DeathDefying Game
by three notes
Summary: 35 players.Seven floors, seven keys, and seven teams. Find a key for the next floor; but take caution, the floors will get tougher. Find the Home key to escape the mansion. Who'll survive? Who'll die? COMPLETE
1. Prologue: Enter Vongola Decimo

**Minor edits on all chapters. Nothing major. One thing I totally forgot was the Arcobaleno's animals. They're not mentioned nor do they appear. I just can't hurt those little creatures.**

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_Signore Vongola Decimo Sawada Tsunayoshi,_

_it would be my greatest pleasure to have you and your Famiglia attend a week's worth at my manor. I have heard so much about you and your Famiglia's adventures; including that of the Millefiore. My Famiglia has too, heard the stories and would all love to have the privilege to get to know you all. Please accept my humble invitation. There is so much to do here, and many rooms for every member. You and your Famiglia shall not be disappointed._

_Sinceramente, Oness Anima_

"A mafia family is inviting us?" Tsuna asked for the umpteenth time. He had never expected a letter from another family besides Dino or Lambo's. That, and the letter had come so suddenly; just a short week after coming back from the future. So when this letter had appeared in the Sawada's mail, he was very surprised. Especially because it was all in Italian. He had asked Reborn to read it to him. Reborn was surprised as well; although there was some other thing that had bothered him-Tsuna was sure of it.

"Yep," Reborn had answered, also for the umpteenth time. He seemed to be in deep thought after reading the letter. So deep he didn't even scold Tsuna for being fidgety.

This lasted for another five minutes before the door burst open. The small, bushy headed Lambo came rushing in, tears and boogers trailing down his face as he cried.

"T-Tsunaaa! Take it off! Take it oooff!" he blubbered.

Tsuna snapped out of his worry and focused on the tiny kid. "What's wrong Lambo?"

Lambo repeated what he'd just said while bringing up his hands. Tsuna sweat dropped when he saw that Lambo's hands were...trapped by a Chinese finger trap.

"Umm, stay still Lambo," he told him before kneeling down to help the tear and booger streaked boy.

"What a wuss," Reborn scoffed, also snapping out of his thoughts.

After Tsuna had removed the trap off of Lambo's hands, he laid down on his bed and sighed, "I'm tired." His eyes fluttered to a close; he fell asleep in seconds.

...He wasn't deeply asleep; he could still hear the sounds going on downstairs. So he was startled awake when out of the blue Reborn said, "I say we should go."

His gut told him not to question the obvious, but just to be sure. "Eh? Go where?" He'd twisted his head towards the tiny hitman.

Said tiny hitman's eyes met with Tsuna's, and in a simple tone said, "The manor."

"Eeh?" Tsuna sat up, he was definitely not expecting that.

"You thought I'd be against this invite, didn't you?"

The brunette stammered, but Reborn continued speaking, "Oness Anima is a well known figure in the mafia. They help every Family financially, medically, and militarily. They're basically the millionaire aides of the mafia. They're no threat to anyone, including the Vongola. The only weird thing about them, is that they never show themselves to others; except for a select few. We all trust them either way. Being guests at their manor is a major honor. That's why I say we should go," he finished with a small grin.

Tsuna was processing what was being said into his slow brain. A couple seconds of processing later, Tsuna scrunched his brow and rubbed his head, "Wait, if they don't show themselves to anyone, then how would we know where to go?"

Reborn's grin widened. He coughed-possibly to stop a laugh-and said, "I said that they've shown themselves to a select few." He paused.

Tsuna seemed to get where he was going. "No way," he murmured.

Reborn's grin was replaced by a smirk, "I'm one of those select few."

_How did it get to this?_ Tsuna wondered as he stared at the small group around him. Everyone he knew had joined Tsuna for his 'vacation'-he'd told his mama that they were going on a vacation to Reborn's homeland; which she agreed to without question. At first it was only his three guardians-Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei-but when Lambo heard they were going to Italy, he'd whined to join in too; I-Pin followed him and Fuuta-not wanting to be alone again-had tagged along too. Bianchi was going anywhere Reborn went, and Kyoko was sticking with her brother; so she brought along Haru and Hana-to not leave her again. The day the group met at the airport, Tsuna was surprised to find that the Kokuyo kids were there too; Chrome had been given a message from Reborn. He nearly fainted when he spotted Hibari-who also got a message from Reborn; he'd brought along his vice chairman, Kusakabe. The size of the group had made Tsuna realize just how big his 'Family' is-not that he's ever going to refer to his friends with such a term.

The flight was a long one. Everyone was suffering from mild jetlag. They relaxed in a cafe; all the while, Reborn was setting up rides for their destination. The rides had taken them to the edge of a forest. Reborn had told them that Oness Anima's manor was deep in the forest. The walk through the forest was uninterrupted and safe. As the sun raised up high, the group had come across an enormous mansion sitting at the center of an open meadow. It was plain, but very ornamented; gold window borders, trimmed bushes with flower beds surrounding them; the main doors were twice the size of an adult, and the door's knocker was in the shape of a lion.

As they headed towards the doors, a voice called out to Tsuna. It was Dino! Tsuna was surprised to see him and asked if Dino had received a letter; the latter replied with a 'yes'. He brought Romario along as well; Tsuna was inwardly pleased by this, actually, everyone who knew of Dino's clumsiness was glad.

Ryohei had to use the knock in place of Tsuna-who was just too weak to even lift it. The door had swung open by itself, causing some members to freak out saying it was a ghost. Entering, the group was immediately greeted by Basil, Irie Shoichi, and Spanner!

"What are you guys doing here?" Tsuna had asked them, totally confused; young Irie and Spanner of all people! They've never met before; only in the future.

Basil had explained that they had received a letter to come to this mansion. He also added that they all arrived at the same time; an hour ago.

They all settled into the next room that was labeled, 'For Our Guests'. It was a lounge room; an unlit fireplace dominated the far right side of the room. Inside, they were stunned to see the baby Arcobaleno. All of them-minus the Sky-were there. They too replied that they received a letter. They all waited patiently for their host. To pass the time, most of them introduced themselves again and chatted.

The main doors were kicked open. Tsuna and his guardians rushed to the main hall and were appalled to find the Varia standing before them. Tsuna was petrified when their leader, Xanxus, spotted him. It took **a lot **of convincing for Xanxus not to shoot the poor boy's head off. The small dispute was interrupted by an infamous laugh.

"Kufufu, my my. I thought the Varia were supposed to be loyal towards the young Vongola."

Everyone in the room immediately went into full defense mode. Gokudera had asked if he were the real thing, to which Mammon and Tsuna confirmed it. The Kokuyo kids and Chrome came rushing in. The touchy reunion was stalled when one more person appeared. It was the young mist replacement of Mammon, Fran. He said that he was kidnapped and brought here. The instant he said that, the doors behind him slammed shut.

Everybody felt lightheaded after that...

Gokudera sat up, rubbing his eyes. _Did I fall asleep?_ He looked around him and saw every person from before, asleep. He saw his Judaime asleep next to Lambo and I-Pin. He couldn't help but feel that something was off. He shrugged it off and waited for everyone to awaken. Once they did, Bel immediately asked, "Where's Mammon?" The confused members looked around and realized that the babies had disappeared. The search for them began. Haru went searching for them in the main hall. She passed by a door, which opened with a hand reaching out for her. Haru almost screamed, but calmed down when she saw that it was Lal..."Hahi? Aren't you supposed to be a baby?" Sure enough, Lal was in her adult form. "Hush, I know. I've no idea what happened. We're all in here, but uh..."-she looked behind her, then back to Haru, blushing,-"we need clothes that actually fit us. Help?" Haru giggled, but went and asked some people for clothes, explaining that the babies 'have grown up'.

The next scene of events were confusing and very irritating for everyone. Where is this host? Why are they **all** here? Most importantly, why and how are the Arcobaleno back to their adult forms? As they all wondered this, they were unaware of the time. The sun had already been setting. The fireplace lit itself up, startling everyone. Then, a voice spoke. The voice of a child.

"Welcome, Vongola. I am so glad that you all have made it here."

"Who are you, and what have you done to Oness Anima?" Reborn questions the unknown voice with a threatening tone.

The child giggled. "Don't be mad, tiny-oh, I mean, big hitman. Why don't you all just save your breath and listen, yes?"

"Why don't you just show your cowardly ass to us, you cocky brat," Xanxus had reached for his gun, but halted when he couldn't find it.

"Oh I'm sorry. I took the liberty of removing any lethal weapons from you all. It'd pose a big problem if you all started shooting this house down," the child said.

With that said, anyone that was used to hiding weapons began to take them out, only to realize that the child was not lying. Before they could start shouting at their 'host', the child began explaining. "It's sudden, I know; but seeing that you all know each other pretty well, I think this'll go along nicely. You see Vongola, I was bored. It's been some time since I took over this Family's mansion, and there's nothing to do here anymore. So I devised a small game for you all."

"You're shitting me. A game?" Gokudera fisted his hands, this kid was starting to annoy him very, very much. All the others agreed, they couldn't believe that they were fooled into coming here by this kid! Especially Reborn; his-now adult-face was seething with anger.

"Yes Italiano-_kun_, a game," the kid sneered, causing the silver headed boy to curse him.

"What's the whole concept of this game?" Lal asked, serious faced. She knew that this child was not playing around, and neither was she.

"The 'concept' is to get out of this building," the child answered honestly.

"And the rules?" Colonello stood by Lal, hand on her shoulder.

"The rules? Ah yes, the rules are to find a key for the next floor. There are seven keys for seven floors. This floor-the Mist-is one of those seven, but this will be your safe zone. The key for this floor is right next to the young lady with curly hair."

Nami-chuu's students turned their attention to Hana; in response, she looked around and found a hand sized box. She nodded her head, "Kid's not lying. Here's the key." She took it out and showed it to everyone. Small murmurs of disbelief and annoyance were spoken out.

"To help out, I've left the next two floors-Rain and Lightning-open. Their keys are near the fireplace. You'll have to find two other keys-for floors Storm and Cloud-since I left the next two open. Once you find a key, another will open," the child explained.

"Are these floors going by the Flames or something?" Dino asked.

"Yep. In order they're: Mist, Rain, Lightning, Storm, Cloud, Sun, and Sky. The floors' names aren't important; they're just names. Though the higher you go, the tougher they'll get."

"But wait, that would mean that there are four other keys, right?" Fuuta had his fingers out, subtracting and adding with them.

"One point for the little kid! Yes, four more keys to go," the child answered.

"What happens after we find the Sky ring?" Bel asked.

"You've to find the Home key. That key will be on the Sky floor, and will be the key to open the front door. Anymore questions?"

"This doesn't make any sense!" Haru exclaimed, shaking her head. A few others agreed.

The child laughed and said, "You'll understand once you start playing. I only know so little Japanese anyways."

The room was filled with numerous sighs and curses.

"Oh, and you all have to split up into seven teams. No more and no less. Failure to obey the rules will lead to consequences. Ah yes, and one more thing; you all better take this game seriously, or else die," the child's voice disappeared after that warning.

"Die? What's that supposed to mean?" Skull didn't want to take this kid seriously; he thought this was all a joke.

"Got me there. This all feels like some low prank," Colonello gave the purple man a big pat on the back, causing the other to stagger forward.

"Prank or not, we should just play along," Fon suggested.

"You're joking right?" Squalo gaped at the Chinese man across him.

Fon shook his head lightly, "I don't joke. Especially at a time like this."

"Fon's right. Besides, the front door is closed shut; and the windows don't break," Lal pointed a finger at the group trying to break open the window using the chairs.

"What the hell is this thing made of?" Ken panted, tired after failing to send the chair through the window.

"I don't want to play this game," Kyoko hugged at her knees.

"Kyoko-chan, you do-" Tsuna was cut off by a sharp kick to the face.

"Dame Tsuna, don't you dare think of going soft on them. I know they're scared, but it'd be much safer to keep them with us," Reborn scolded at his student.

Tsuna knelt on the floor, clasping his nose for dear life. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Tsuna-kun!"

"Tsuna-san!"

Kyoko and Haru ran to him, checking if he was alright.

The brunette boy looked at the grown hitman. "Reborn! You didn't have to kick me so hard! Gah! It won't stop gushing!"

The hitman shrugged. "Sorry. I forgot I was"-he looked at his hands-"back to normal."

Shortly after the boy stopped bleeding, everyone in the room settled down and started splitting off into seven teams.

"Since there're thirty-five of us, we'll be in groups of five," Reborn noted.

"We Varia will stay together," Squalo started but was then hit by a chair that his boss had thrown to him. "Damn Boss! Go screw yourself!"

"Just ignore them everyone," Dino reassured the rest.

I-Pin raised her hand, "I want to stay near Master."

Lambo raised his hand, "Lambo-san will stay with I-Pin!"

Fuuta raised his hand as well, "I'll stay with them two, too."

Fon accepted to taking care of the children, "Leave it to me. I'll keep them safe."

Basil stood up, "I shall aide you as well."

Fon nodded, "That's five of us."

"Kufufu, I think our group is decided as well," Mukuro waved his hand to Ken, Chikusa, and Chrome.

"Us girls will stick together," Bianchi sat near Hana, Kyoko, and Haru.

"Big Brother will take care of us. Is that okay?" Kyoko looked at her brother.

Ryohei pumped out a fist. "I'll protect you four to the extreme!"

"I think we Arcobaleno should stick together," Colonello advised, mostly to Verde though.

The green haired scientist shrugged. "I don't mind."

"We'll stay with Kyoya and Kusakabe, is that fine?" Dino directed to the aloof cloud.

"Whatever," aloof cloud could care less.

"Then I guess we'll stay with Tsuna," Yamamoto smiled at Gokudera.

"Che, 'course we will Baseball Nut," Gokudera scowled.

"Reborn will be with us, right?" Tsuna asked before he was smacked on the head.

"Obviously," Reborn retracted his hand back to his crossed arms.

"What about you three?" Lal nodded at the three boys standing at the far back of the room.

Spanner and Irie looked at each other and then back to Lal. Spanner walked to the Arcobaleno group. "I'll stick with you guys," he said.

Irie walked to Tsuna's group. "It's fine if I stick with you, Tsunayoshi-kun, right?"

Tsuna smiled kindly to the shy boy, "Of course!"

Now only the mint-green headed Fran stood alone. "Uhh..."

"Shishishi. Aren't you the future frog?" Bel asked him, a wide Cheshire grin finding its way to his face.

Fran blankly stared at him. "Aren't you the annoying, fallen prince who always says he's still a prince but it's plainly obvious that he's not?"

"Tsk, and you're still an annoying kid who doesn't know his place," Bel was about to launch himself to the other but was stopped by Mammon.

"Enough, quit acting like kids."

"Ne, how'd you get that robe?" Fran asked them, his monotonous voice unchanged.

A tiny smirk formed on Mammon's lips. "I'm a first-class psychic and illusionist. What do you expect?"

A short silence took over the room, until Mukuro laughed.

"Kufu, why don't you join our group, green bean?"

The other three didn't seem to mind having Fran in their group. So, Fran shrugged and went towards them.

"Well, that settles it," Dino said, stretching his arms.

"We should all get some rest," Lal yawned, and blushed when Colonello patted her head. "Don't treat me like some kid, you dope," she slapped his hand away. He only laughed and continued teasing her.

Mukuro and his group left to the neighboring room; the Varia went off as well.

"Tomorrow's going to be one hell of a day," Reborn said, before heading towards a corner.

The night was eerily quiet and calm. No one appeared to be sad or worried; almost completely used to these kinds of things. They fell asleep and awoke the next morning, ready for the game.

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I'm sorry for any OOC-ness.

_**Thirty-five charys, seven teams, seven floors, and seven keys. Who'll survivie this brutal, sick game? **_


	2. Rain and Lightning

Juicy meatballs bounced up and down incoherently around the small boy. Squiggly strings of spaghetti pasta spiraled anywhere and everywhere. This was absolute heaven for Lambo. He was just about to take a bite, when he felt a nudge.

"Lambo. Lambo," a voice spoke.

The little cow-boy paid no attention to the voice.

"Lambo!" the voice got louder and louder. The meatballs shook at the sudden rise of volume, and began to disperse.

"My meatballs!" Lambo cried out, running after the nearest one he could nab.

"Wake up you stupid cow!" Gokudera pinched Lambo's cheek, leaving a small red mark.

The wake-up attempt worked, as the little kid had finally snapped open his eyes. His eyes instinctively began to water and his nose started to sniffle; why wouldn't he? He had just been woken up from a wonderful dream!

"Gokudera, I think that was too much," Spanner noted, lollipop already in his mouth.

The bomber scoffed and picked up the sniffling Lambo, heading out of the room.

Lambo was now on the verge of tears.

Gokudera noticed this and scolded the little Bovino, "Stop crying, stupid cow. You can eat all you want here."

Lambo wiped away his tears and protested, "Lambo-san's not crying Stupidera!" He started to struggle out of 'Stupidera's' arms but stopped when his nose twitched; there was a delightful aroma creeping out from behind the double doors in front of them.

Spanner turned the knob and pushed open one of the doors.

"Gupya!" Lambo stared, agape with astonishment. There was food straight ahead; actually, two long tables were filled with plates.

He began to struggle again, but Gokudera held on to him. "Our table's over here, wait."  
Spanner waved at Gokudera and headed the opposite direction; to a circular table where Fran, Basil, and Irie were seated.

Lambo gazed around the room, at the tables, at the delicious food. He hopped down and landed on an empty seat of the table where Tsuna and his Guardians had taken.

"Hey, Gokudera-kun. Thanks for getting Lambo," Tsuna's half-awakened eyes cheered up a little at the sight of Lambo; he'd already began munching down his plate of breakfast.

"No problem, Judaime. It was nothing," Gokudera smiled at his boss and friend, taking a seat next to the munching kid.

"It's pretty cool how the little kid slept through all our racket, ain't it?" Yamamoto-in his usual peppy mood-remarked, gulping down a glass of milk.

"He wasn't the only one. Turf Top here didn't even stir after I'd hit him in the gut. Damn jock," Gokudera muttered, directing his thumb at said jock seated next to him.

"Huh? What'd you say, Octopus Head?" Ryohei asked with his mouth stuffed.

"What are you? Deaf? And don't talk with your food in your mouth! It's disgusting!"

"Eh? I have an extremely good sense of hearing, Octopus Head!"

"I never asked, stupid!"

"What was that, silver butt?"

The two continued with their arguing until Tsuna spoke.

"Hey, guys."

Ryohei was the first to respond. "What is it, Sawada?"

Gokudera, fists unclenching, turned to his Judaime. "What's wrong, Judaime?"

Tsuna's eyes were still in that half asleep look, but when he looked at them, they seemed more restless than half asleep.

"Aren't you all worried?" he asked them.

The other three-minus Lambo-paused for a moment, thinking of a good answer.

They knew today wasn't normal. They knew they were still trapped in this weird mansion, but they didn't feel at all threatened. So...

"Not really," Yamamoto frowned, that wasn't what he really felt, but it was close enough.

"Yeah, I agree with Baseball Nut. There's nothing to worry about since we're all together," Gokudera was sure of this.

Ryohei nodded. "We'll win at this game to the extreme, Sawada."

Tsuna inwardly sighed but laid it off. There's no use in worrying about something that might not happen-like people dying for one-since they're all strong enough to defend each other. So he just put on a smile and told them, "You guys are right. Sorry for worrying."

What he didn't know, was that everyone **was** worrying. Though they were pretty good at hiding it.

In the room, everyone from yesterday was here, eating and chatting. The room was big enough to hold seven tables, spaced out evenly, and the two longer tables for holding the food. A buffet room to put it in simple terms.

The Varia sat together; Squalo and Bel were awake enough to fight about who would lead the group. Levi wanted to join in but was ignored. Luss played as referee, until a knife whizzed past his cheek. In the corner of the table, Mammon was finishing the meal. It felt strange to be back in their adult form. How long has it been? But more importantly, how much money will it take to remain this way instead of being a baby?

At another table, the former baby Arcobaleno were quietly eating their meal. Lal was dead serious about having turned back. Sure she was happy, but why? How? Colonello and Skull talked every now and then. Fon smiled softly as I-Pin talked to him of her days in Namimori. A calm table this was.

Nearby, the girls chatted every now and then to fill in the silence. They didn't mention anything about this mansion; too afraid of thinking of the 'outcome', not that they believed it, but still...

The Kokuyo kids were probably the only lively group. Ken constantly shouted at Chikusa and Chrome whenever they mentioned an embarrassing situation the doggy was in. Mukuro listened to their stories quietly, with a few replies here or there. To think, one moment he was inside that wretched prison of water, and the next he wakes up in a small cabin. The sudden-more like abrupt-change of location made him think it was some sick dream; but after sneezing and feeling a numbing pain spreading throughout his body, he knew this was real. He found a note on the drawer next to him reading:_ Follow your friends or else._ For a while he debated on whether or not to comply with the threatening note, but in the end decided it was best to do as it said. Not so much because it was a threat-if you think 'or else' is a threat; seriously, who wrote that? A kid?-but more because of the strange sensation of being watched. No really. He felt as if something were watching him. He had no trouble getting to where his 'friends' were going, though he couldn't help the strange fluttery feeling in his gut. Anticipation? Nervousness? For what?

The moment he caught sight of his three followers-which was the same moment their eyes lit up with surprised glee-his heart dropped a little.

Yes.

He was happy to be out. Finally out. Cheesy as it is, it's the truth. Although, he didn't expect his 'escape' would lead to another confinement. He was going to choke this little kid to death the moment he's given the chance. But for now, he'd mind as well enjoy this game.

Beside their table were Dino, his right-hand Romario, and Kusakabe. The three were in an alright mood. Concerned? Yes. Worried? No. They were prepared and ready for this kid's game.

"Do you think Hibari will try to go on his own?" Romario asked, remembering that the skylark was part of their group.

"Mm, I don't think so. Kyoya's aloof like a cloud, but he knows when it's time to gather up with others," Dino answered, he was confident that Hibari would stick together with them.

Kusakabe nodded, "That's true...Though I think he's in a bad mood today."

The three directed their eyes to the lone cloud; he was seated on one of the stools situated in front of a counter. The three could've sworn they saw dark clouds hovering above his head, but they shook it off.

Hibari was definitely in a not pleasant mood, but it wasn't so bad that they would be bitten to death at any false move.

At the corner of the counter sat Verde. Head resting on an open palm, his thoughts were elsewhere. Boredom struck him so intensely.

The door opened; in came the fedora wearing hitman, Reborn. He took a seat on an empty stool and drank down his espresso. A small bead of sweat slid down his forehead. A little while ago he'd been looking around the first floor trying to find a set of stairs. He skipped out on breakfast-not trusting the food one bit, even if everyone else said it wasn't poisonous or anything; though he did accept the espresso-and decided to find these stairs that would lead to the second floor. He opened any and every door in sight. Once opening them he would find either an empty dim room, or a furnitured room lit by the open curtains. Nothing suspicious or dangerous appeared until he reached the end of the corridor. Only one door was present. He thought it would lead to a storage closet since there was hardly no light around; a perfect place for a neglected closet, and staircase. His hand was on the doorknob, but it wouldn't move. **He** couldn't move.

"Hehe. I wouldn't go in there if I were you, Mr. Hitman. It's best if you wait with the others, yes?" the kid's voice startled him.

He turned around and headed back to the dining room, not turning back.

_Damn kid. I'll fucking kill them when I get the chance_. His mind drifted to daydreams of torturing the kid.

For the next half hour, the dining room was like this. Just a-somewhat and bizarre-morning with chatter and nerves and drowsiness. Then a chime rang out, twice. All activity ceased; worried and conscious gazes were passed.

"Buongiorno, Vongola! It's nice that you're all awake. I hope you had a restful night's sleep"-at this, some scoffed and threw nasty comebacks at the kid's voice-"because today's the day! You're all ready, yes?

"Now, get into your groups and head up the stairs. Some of you already know the way so no need to ask me for directions. Remember that there are two open floors. You have until the evening or once you find both keys. Buona fortuna! E non provare a morire!"

"As if," Gokudera scoffed.

They all got into their groups and stepped out.

"So who're the ones that know the way?" Lal asked.

Reborn...and Hibari stepped up. The two glanced at each other, surprised.

"How did you guys find it?" Tsuna asked, not surprised at all that these two would know something no one else did.

"Curiosity," the two answered in unison.

The two lead the way, back to the dark corridor, back to the dark door. Once there, Reborn paused and _hoped_ the younger boy would open the door, but one look at his face told him that the boy was just as freaked out as he was. So, being the adult, he twisted the doorknob; and it opened. The few behind Reborn peeked inside, not wanting to enter. Inside was a cramped room, meant only for stairs. It was pitch black, but with one foot touching the entrance, a torch, followed by more torches, lit up. The staircase spiraled upward.

"Looks safe to me," Fran spoke up, completely-and gratefully-ruining the eerie moment of suspense.

"Kufufu, let's go," Mukuro walked past the still Reborn, his small group following behind him.

The Varia group went after them; Hibari's after them.

A small pat on his shoulder snapped Reborn out of it. He saw that it was Fon. "Are you all right?" he asked with sincere concern.

With a small nod, the hitman began climbing the stairs.

The ascend felt like it would never end. It soon stopped spiraling and became more rigid and straight. Their many steps echoed off the concrete walls. Some complained about the length and narrowness of the stairs, while others complained about the complainers. Finally, they reached a platform, well, technically it was only Mukuro and the Varia's group, everyone else waited on the stairs.

"Why'd you guys stop?" Skull asked, being in the way back, he couldn't see anything up front.

"Kufu, the road splits from here," Mukuro nodded his head towards the next flight of stairs.

"What do you mean, Mukuro?" Tsuna tried to tippy-toe to see what he meant, but his height was keeping him back.

"There are two floors. Some of us have to go on to the next floor while the rest go through here," Mammon explained with patience.

The groups were silent, save for Lambo and I-Pin who argued about the rules of the game. In the end, the first four groups-Mukuro, the Varia, Hibari, and Tsuna's-decided to go on to the Storm floor while the last three-Fon, Ryohei, and Lal's-continue on through the Rain floor.

**RAIN**

"This is one long-ass hallway," Skull said in shock.

The three group's members stood and stared at the bright hallway. Windows-the size of flatscreens-lined one side of the hallway, morning light poured in. No paintings, no lamps, no furniture, no color lay ahead of them. Not exactly what they were expecting.

"Should we just walk ahead?" Colonello asked to no one in particular, already taking steps forward.

"So we just search for a key, right?" Hana looked out the window, frowning at the cheery face of nature.

"If there is one, yes," Lal kept up with the leading blond.

This felt like it would take a while...

**LIGHTNING**

"How the hell are we supposed to find this key? Shouldn't that stupid kid give us some clue or something? Sheesh," Gokudera grumbled as he searched through the couch.

"Gokudera-kun's got a point; a clue would've helped," Irie sighed, putting down a pillow.

"Like a riddle. I'm pretty good at riddles," Yamamoto added, moving aside the small figurines.

"Maybe the key's in some special room. Like a big dance hall or a hidden door. What do you think, Reborn?" Tsuna asked the hitman, who was sitting on one of the couches with a thinking face.

"I agree. It's most likely hidden somewhere; though I doubt we'll find it looking around like this."

* * *

In the stretch of a corridor, the Varia was wandering around.

"How long is this thing?" Bel asked, exasperated.

"We should have let those damn kids walk this," Squalo growled.

"It's best if they stay close to the stairs though," Luss said. Although he was of the Varia, he couldn't help but be a little worried for the kids.

"Those squirts can die for all I care," Squalo retorted.

"Hey Mammon, you're awfully quiet," Levi said.

"Who wouldn't be? You're right behind me," Mammon replied.

The next dialogues were retorts and crude comments. Their boss shook his head, annoyed that he was stuck with these idiots. He'd mind as well be on his own.

A while later, they came across an open two-door room. Inside was nothing but couches.

"Shishishi! Naptime," Bel spread himself on one of the long couches.

"VOI! Get up and start looking you stupid blond!" Squalo purposefully tipped the couch the blond had splayed on to look underneath.

The blond fell over. "Oi! Don't tip down the prince's couch!"

"Like I care!"

"Shishishi, you'll pay."

They continued arguing, unaware of the ticking sound. Somewhere in the room it lay there, hidden.

Xanxus had gone to the center of the room, surveying the room. He doubted there was anything useful-like the key-in here. He told the idiots that they were leaving. As they headed out, Levi paused.

"Voi, Levi. Let's go!" Squalo and the rest of the group were waiting by the door.

"Ah, right..." he couldn't help but feel something...no. More like hear something. He looked around, searching for anything abnormal. Couches here, couches there. A small table with a lamp over there. ...Lamp...? He looked over to his boss, who was barely exiting the room. Right then and there, Levi made a connection.

"Boss! Move!"

As if on cue, the lamp popped and shattered; unknown whizzing projectiles were headed straight towards Xanxus. The Varia boss was beginning to turn around to scold the annoying, overprotective man, but was shoved out of the way. Small puncture sounds resounded in the Varia's ears as they saw Levi fall to his knees then on to the floor. They stared, not quite believing what had happened in the last few seconds.

"Wh...what the hell?" Squalo blinked a couple of times at the sight.

Sharp, thick needles were embedded through the fallen man's skull and upper back. A thin trickle of blood began to leak on the floor.

They continued to stare, not because of their fallen comrade, but because-

"How could we not sense that?" Bel asked, all teasing manner gone.

* * *

"Would the key be hidden somewhere obvious?" Dino wondered aloud as he looked through a bookcase.

"Stop talking to yourself, Bronco," Hibari responded from within a closet.

"I wasn't talking to myself, Kyoya_-kun_," he stretched the '-kun' a little too long, much to Hibari's distaste.

A coat hangar had narrowly missed the messy blond's head. To return the favor, he threw a book into the closet then quickly removed another book and used it as a shield to block the many hangars flying at him. "So, have you guys found anything like a key yet?"

Kusakabe shook his head. "Nothing but dust bunnies here."

"Romario?"

"Same here, boss. I'm sorry to ask, but is it alright to leave this room?" Romario looked at Dino with a disturbed look.

"Why? What's up?" he put down the book and tossed it into a trash can.

"This painting is giving me the creeps," he nodded towards the painting in front of him.

"Painting?" Dino walked up to his right-hand man to take a look. Sure enough, the painting **did** give off an eerie vibe. "Wow...Yeeeah, let's leave. Hey, Kyoya! Let's get out of here."

Hibari poked his head out of the closet and hesitated; but with an inaudible sigh, he stepped out.

The small group had only a few steps left when-

"Kyoya-san!"

"Wh-" Hibari was pushed forward by Kusakabe, who let out a yelp. Not missing a beat, Hibari spun around, tonfa in both hands; but the sight he didn't expect.

Kusakabe's hands were skewered by a long, thin pipe.

"The painting! Careful!" Dino's shouts were useless.

In just those seconds, pipes were shot through the painting, aimed right at them. Dino and Hibari easily dodged, and Romario had made it out of the room. Kusakabe couldn't move, the pipe through his hands was distracting him. At the last second, he turned to the source. A pipe hit the space in between the bloody pipe and broke it in half! But the momentum of the flying pipe was too fast, and it ran straight through the poor guy's chest. He hit the wall, causing him to lose his breath; when he tried to breath, he coughed out the blood that was building up in his esophagus.

Looking at Hibari one last time, he smiled apologetically.

"Tetsu..." Hibari could only stare at his subordinate before being pulled by the arm by Dino.

"We gotta go, Kyoya!"

"..."

* * *

"There's nothing here, pyon!" Ken whined, dumping the small treasure box on the floor.

"Ken-sempai, don't go breaking things that aren't yours," Fran regarded the whining blond.

"But there's nothing here!"

"We heard you the first time."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"I never did."

"Then don't ask me anything!"

Fran sighed, this guy was really stupid. He turned to Chikusa-the more sensible one, he thought-and asked him, with all his monotone glory, "How do you manage with this guy?"

Chikusa adjusted his glasses. "You get used to him."

"Kufufu, doesn't this make me feel foolish," Mukuro shook his head, snapping a book closed.

"Mukuro-sama, is something wrong?" Chrome looked over at the tall Italian.

"Not really."

"Hey, Ugly. Have you found anything yet?" Ken scowled at the girl.

She shook her head no.

"Then keep looking," he rummaged through a drawer, throwing out its contents.

Chikusa sighed. "Ken, there's no point in searching."

"Eh? What's this Kakipi? You giving up already?"

"Kufufu, Chikusa's right. We should stop looking," Mukuro walked out of the room, everyone quickly followed.

As they trudged the hall, they heard a chime.

"Ciao everyone! The sun's almost setting, so why don't you all hurry along down the stairs? Meet you there!"

"...That's sudden," Fran commented.

* * *

Everyone had made it down the stairs; though they had a somewhat hard time trying to find them again. They met up at the lounge, seated and ready for the annoying child's voice.

"Where's Kusakabe?" Tsuna had taken notice of the missing person of their group. He also noticed a dark aura emanating from the Head Prefect.

"Ah...well..." Dino tried to answer but found himself at a loss for words.

"Where's the guy with the future funny mustache?" Fran too, had noticed a missing person.

"Dead," Bel answered simply.

The room fell silent; the air pressure seemed to increase, especially for those around Hibari.

The silence was broken by none other than the child's voice.

"Welcome again, Vongola. I'm glad to see you all safe and sound. Well, some of you. No worries though; two less people is nothing. Right?"-Hibari's fists clenched and unclenched-"I'm disappointed that none of you found any keys, but then again, I kind of already knew you wouldn't. That's why I had to kill off a couple of you. Buuut, for some strange reason, their subordinates got in the way. Mr. Xanxus and Hibari-_san_, you guys get to live another day!"

A gasp escaped from Kyoko. "Y-you mean Kusakabe-san is..."

"Dead? Yup!" the child answered cheerfully.

"How could you?" Haru yelled at the child.

The child giggled. "Don't get mad. I warned you didn't I? Take this seriously or else die, right? The good thing is that you all still have five days left! I'm pretty sure you'll all play this game like your life depends on it. Oh wait, you will!"

Hibari turned around to leave.

"Oh look. Someone's mad. Hey, hey! Don't be mad Hibari-san! It was only part of the game!" the child called out.

Hibari merely walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

"Oh my. He's really mad, isn't he? Heehee, oh well. Too bad so sad, right? Anyways, you all must be tired, so there's dinner prepared for you all at the dinning room. The same routine tomorrow okay? Buonanotte, Vongola~."

. . .

The dinning room was the same as in the morning. The food was warm and the plates were clean. Nobody really felt like arguing, yet. The arguing started when Squalo and Bel began insulting the lone cloud guardian. Dino, having heard them rather clearly, scolded them and defended Hibari. The argument grew to the point that even some of the Arcobaleno were involved, and some of Tsuna's guardians.

Tsuna, who had no energy to argue or stop the fighting, wondered where Hibari could've gone. He started to fill an empty plate for Hibari; he knew full well that skipping a meal had devastating effects. He stepped out of the room, and wandered where the lone prefect was staying. He shivered when he felt a weird sensation.

"Kufu, want me to take that for you, young Vongola?"

"Mukuro!" Tsuna almost lost his balance but regained his composure-well, somewhat.

"Is that a yes?" Mukuro was still as tall as ever, Tsuna noted.

"What do you plan to do?" Tsuna was a little worried what would happen if Hibari were to be close to Mukuro.

"Kufufu, don't worry. I think I know how to knock some sense into him. Besides, the Bronco is too busy with the verbal fight," he shrugged.

Tsuna thought for a little while, but in the end decided to hand the plate to him. "Just don't fight." He went back inside without a second thought.

Mukuro's grin fell and shook his head. _He's too trusting. I can't believe I lost to him..._

. . .

The night was the same as yesterday. The only difference were the two less persons, but that didn't change anything. They were given an example of what could happen, so now it's time to get serious. Or else...

* * *

-nothing wierd happens with muku and hibari. muku just dusnt want hibari sulking so he talks some sense into him.


	3. Rain and Lightning Once More

**LIGHTNING**

"Is it me, or did this floor change?" Tsuna wondered, looking around the hallway.

"No, it's not just you, Judaime; this place really did change," Gokudera assured.

Yamamoto nodded in agreement. He pointed towards a dead end. "Yeah, like yesterday that dead end wasn't there."

"That whole corridor wasn't there to begin with," Reborn corrected.

"What's with this place?" Irie shivered, looking around warily.

"Maybe this whole place is haunted," Gokudera suggested with a gasp.

"Hiiee! D-don't say something like that Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna squealed. He really didn't want to believe that there could be ghosts here; though he did start making some sort of connection with their invisible child host.

"I'm sorry, Judaime! I didn't mean to worry you," Gokudera felt stupid to have mentioned it.

"This place is pretty weird. I wouldn't be shocked if it **was** haunted," Reborn remarked.

"Hiiee! Reborn? What do you mean?"

"The mansion from outside looked like a simple two or three story, but the kid told us that there are seven," he explained.

The four youngsters thought about it for a while. Reborn could sense panic rising in Irie and Tsuna, the other two he sensed worry. Sighing, he said, "Let's go. We've to find the key."

* * *

Somewhere to the opposite of them, the Varia were skimming through the rooms. They were a little more careful; after yesterday's weird predicament, they definitely had to keep all their senses open. Mammon, Bel, and Lussuria were rummaging through one of the many rooms from this hall. Their boss and second-in-command were nearby, searching the neighboring room.

Squalo turned the knob, only to find it locked. He clicked his tongue, annoyed, and shook the door. "You can not be serious!" he growled in utter annoyance.

Xanxus rolled his eyes and pushed the silverette out of the way. He lifted his foot and kicked open the door; it shattered like plywood. He entered without a second thought and immediately caught sight of something shining on the floor near the center back of the large empty room. A large window filled half of the wall to their left, the only light came from there. Xanxus slowly made his way to the shiny object. Squalo went towards the window, wondering if it had a latch.

"Found one."

"Eh? Found wh-" Squalo's question was interrupted by a loud metal crunch.

The room was filled with Xanxus's sharp cry of pain. Squalo ran to him and stared, agape with shock.

"F-fuck," Xanxus cursed, looking down and scowling deeply. His leg was caught in some sort of bear trap. He hadn't seen it, or even sensed it was there.

"Xanxus, what the hell?" Squalo bent down and tried prying the trap off, ignoring the curses his boss threw him.

Just then, the other three members came rushing in, wondering why their boss had screamed.

"Boss! What happened?" Lussuria covered his mouth, obviously shocked.

Xanxus tossed something to Bel. "Take it and leave. I'll only hold you down."

"But-" Bel tried to protest, but Squalo stopped him.

"Listen to your boss, damn kid!"

Mammon took Bel's shoulder and led him out, Lussuria following. Once they walked out the door, bars sprang up and blocked the entrance. They tried knocking the bars down, but it was futile. One last glance at their two leaders and they were gone.

Squalo looked back at Xanxus. He noticed a string attached to the back of the trap and trailed his eyes to where it stopped; a box. "Try kicking the trap off or something."

Xanxus grit his teeth but knew he had no other option. With a grunt, he jerked his injured-and broken-leg as hard as he could. The string snapped off and the trap's teeth opened up, releasing his leg. He stumbled forward but Squalo caught him. They froze when they heard a high pitched whir. A moment of staying still later, nothing happened.

_We're still alive_, Xanxus's eyes told Squalo.

_I know. Weird. Maybe it's our movements,_ Squalo barely shifted his body when the pitch came on again and in a second was punctured by the same familiar needles from his right side, head to toe.

Xanxus's eyes widened, stunned to see his second-in-command hit. For those few seconds, they stared at each other; not believing that this had happened. But then Squalo's eyes rolled back and he fell onto the floor, unmoving.

The scarred man couldn't move; out of fear that he too, would get hit by those needles. He tried twitching his hurt leg; he felt nothing, not even pain.

Then he heard it.

Ticking.

The ticking of something about to go off.

He knew he had to choose between running and risking those needles, or waiting until whatever the ticking was for to go off. His thinking was stalled by looking at the fallen body. With fists clenched, he tore his gaze off the body and ran for the entrance. Searing hot pain swelled from his leg, causing him to stumble. In just seconds, he found himself on the floor, writhing in pain. The needles imbedded his entire torso. The ticking grew louder, he knew he was done for. With one last glance at his comrade and friend-who coincidently had his head turned towards him as well; his far-off dead gaze saddened the scarred man-he closed his eyes and muttered, "Damn."

The explosion shook the entire surrounding area.

**RAIN**

Down below, Fon's group was idly walking through one of the white halls, unbeknownst to the event happening above them; until the explosion brought down part of the ceiling.

"Look out!" Basil yanked Lambo and Fuuta out of the way, barely missing one of the debris.

"The whole thing went kaboom!" Lambo expressed this by waving his arms in a semi-circle.

"Where's I-Pin and Fon-san?" Fuuta looked around for their Chinese members, worry clouding his heart.

Basil didn't see them either. Worried that they might've been under the rubble, he called out to them. "I-Pin! Fon-dono!"

"Don't worry, we're all right!" Fon's voice was heard from the other side of the rubble.

"I-Pin? You're over there?" Lambo asked aloud, beginning to climb the wreckage until Basil stopped him by picking him up.

"What do we do now?" Basil asked the man from the other side. There was no way the three of them could climb over this; it was too dangerous.

"We'll meet up at some other hall, I guess. Best of luck?" Fon knew he could trust Basil with Lambo and Fuuta, no doubts what-so-ever.

Basil hesitated for a second, but knew Fon was right. "All right. I will try my best!"

Fon waited until he heard their footsteps fade. I-Pin tugged his pant sleeve, wondering if her master was okay. He smiled at her lightly and picked her up. "Let's go, I-Pin."

* * *

"Hey, fancy meeting you ladies here! Oh, and you too, Ryohei!" Colonello waved hello at the other group across them.

Ryohei stepped up and pumped a fist. "Master Colonello, it's extremely awesome that we meet here!"

"This place is like some maze, isn't it?" Haru looked behind the Arcobaleno, the hall they came from seemed to go on forever.

"I hope we won't get lost," Kyoko clasped her hands to her chest. The thought of being stuck in these halls made her feel anxious.

"Don't worry. I left some wrappers on our way here, we could use those to go back," Spanner reassured her.

"You're going to get cavities with all that candy," Hana warned the blond Italian.

He shrugged. "Makes me think. Can't help it."

Lal waited patiently for the chatter to stop. When it did, she directed her attention to the two open rooms nearby. "Two rooms for two groups," she said and went inside one of them. The rest of the Arcobaleno went in.

"Let's take a look in here," Bianchi went inside the neighboring room.

The inside of the rooms were dim and musty. Dust covered everything everywhere. Cobwebs hung down the ceilings. The only light came from the hall.

"What a disgusting room," Verde sighed. He staggered forward when Colonello patted his back.

"C'mon, Verde. Don't be such a girl and start searching," he said with a grin.

"There's actually a TV in here. I'm impressed," Spanner noted, his fingers itched to break apart the old device.

Lal sneezed sneeze after sneeze after opening up a book. Colonello took the book from her hands and handed her one of his many handkerchiefs. "You're pretty sensitive to dust, eh Lal?"

"Oh hush up," she sniffed, gratefully taking the item.

As this happened, Skull caught sight of a sparkling object on a wall. He walked towards it, hand reaching out.

"It's so dusty in here! Achoo!" Haru was overwhelmed by all the dust in the room. Her allergies had kicked in within seconds of entering the room.

"Maybe you should wait outside, Haru. We can look around, it's a small room anyways," Bianchi suggested, surveying for anything that may hold a key.

Haru's shoulders sagged, but she complied; it's best not to get in the way.

Kyoko comforted the allergic girl. "Don't worry, Haru. It's no trouble at all."

"I don't blame you, though. It's so dusty, even I can't handle it," Hana added. She was startled when the boxer spoke/yelled in her ear.

"Don't give up, Hana! It'll be extremely hard if one more person feels sick!"

"I never said I felt sick, you dope. And don't yell! I'm right here," Hana unplugged her ears.

Ryohei answered back full blast, causing an annoyed Hana to yell right back. Kyoko stopped rummaging around to stop the pair's ruckus. Haru was now waiting outside when she caught sight of Basil, Lambo, and Fuuta in the distance. She went to greet them.

All the while, Bianchi had stayed silent; she was eyeing a particular shiny item on a wall-the same wall that bordered the other group's room. She walked towards the item and held out her hand.

At the same time, Skull and Bianchi touched the shiny object. For a second, nothing happened. Then-

**BOOM**

"Aiii!" Kyoko and Hana screamed and covered their heads. Ryohei immediately hugged the girls from the debris.

"Kid!" Colonello and Lal quickly ran over to Spanner and protected his back.

Haru and Basil sprinted back to the rooms. Dust wafted out of the room. The smell of smoke and dust was strong. Some of the walls had all broken down; nothing but huge chunks of rubble now. Amazingly, everything else stood; the ceiling and other walls, though they were charcoaled.

"Hahi! This is bad. This is bad! This is bad!" Haru's eyes misted with tears as she gaped at the sight.

Basil right away began to rummage through the rubble; he frantically pulled out chunks of the broken wall, hoping that they were okay-or at least alive.

Nearby, a pile of the rubble budged upward. Softly at first, then harder and rapidly; as if someone were struggling. Basil went over and helped the people underneath remove the used-to-be wall. Colonello, Lal, and Spanner laid there, safe and unhurt; save for the small scratches and torn clothing. Verde popped out of the wreckage, with a dazed and bemused expression. Another pile began to budge. Basil was about to go help, but stopped when the pile literally exploded outward. Ryohei stood up and helped his sister and friend get up.

"What about Bianchi?" Haru noticed the older friend had still not come out.

Ryohei shook his head with a solemn expression. "She's gone."

Kyoko was startled by how fast her brother would give up on their friend. "Brother, you can't!"

But he looked at her seriously. "Kyoko, you saw how close she was to the explosion."

Her eyes were clouded with tears, but still she got to her knees and started rummaging through the rubble. "We have to try!"

Hana and Haru helped out as well.

Verde walked up to Lal and Colonello. "Those two activated a trap, didn't they?"

"Guess so," Lal sighed.

"The poor bastard. And Bianchi. Man, Gokudera's gonna be pissed," Colonello muttered.

Basil gazed at the scene of the girls' attempt to find the body. He felt a tug at his pant leg and looked down. It was Fuuta.

"We should go look for I-Pin and Fon. I'm worried for them."

Basil nodded. He just hoped he wouldn't be too late.

* * *

"I-Pin, don't go running off please!" Fon sighed when he saw his young student safe and sound. She had run off a few times into rooms and turning into other hallways.

"Master, look! I found the key!" I-Pin exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Fon smiled lightly and was about to praise the young girl, but ended up bursting in alarm. "I-Pin! Don't move!"

But it was too late. I-Pin's foot was wrapped around by a camouflaged rope. She hung upside down and was slowly lifted up by what seemed to be a mechanical pulley; though there was something ominously strange about this pulley. Almost as if, if her foot got caught-

"I-Pin! Hold on…" Fon ran to his student and jumped on the pole attached to the pulley and tried tearing the rope with his bare hands; the rope proved to be much more sturdier than he thought. His next idea was to jab something inside it, so he removed the belt he wore and stuck it inside; the pulley merely sputtered before starting up again, but much faster than before.

A curse escaped Fon's lips when his hand accidently got caught in the pulley. An intense pain befell his hand, the bones twisted and cracked in the pulley's grip.

"Master!" I-Pin's was dizzy from all the blood rushing to her head; and her master's blood dripped on her cheek. She started to swing forward, in hopes that the rope would tear. Her master told her to stop. She was causing the pulley to swing downward, and Fon was slipping off. The machine began to make a squealing sound, almost as if it was straining from Fon's wedged hand and I-Pin's sudden shifting.

Fon cried out in pain as he finally slipped off from the pole, his hand was still inside the pulley, but with his weight being greater, his hand simply tore itself off. The pulley spat out the shattered hand and began to pull up its victim up faster.

"Master!" I-Pin was terrified. Her master lay there on the floor, his amputated hand squirting out blood. She'd no idea what kind of pain that felt, until her foot got caught inside the pulley. A shrilling scream escaped her lips as the machine continued to suck in her foot.

"I-Pin!" Fon stood up and swiftly shimmied up the pole, his student's screams urged him to hurry up before anything else happened. Red blood began spurting out of the pulley; her entire foot was inside now, and now the rest of her leg was next. This machine had some mind of its own. Fon reached the top. He fisted his only hand and struck the machine as hard as he could, over and over again until sparks started to fly. A piece jut out which Fon took to his advantage. With all his strength, he kicked that one piece back into its place, shattering a major portion of the wretched machine. With a creak, it stopped working. The rope loosened immediately after that. Fon caught I-Pin and landed safely on the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her leg was beyond of any use; just like his handless arm.

"I-I still got the key, Master," she said wearily, holding up the key.

He shook his head, "You're really something, I-Pin."

She smiled, but the smile faded. She pointed to the machine, a scared expression took a hold of her face. "M-master! That thing! It's going to-"

But before she could finish, the machine burst into flames. Fon was aware of this and made a beeline to the entrance, I-Pin still in his arms. He was near the entrance when the fire set off the explosion.

Scraps of metal flew through the air. The mechanical pulley was obliterated and in chunks, flew straight at the running man. The razor sharp edge hacked at the man's neck and upper back. He staggered and fell, gasping at the new pain. I-Pin was released from Fon's hold and slid to a wall. The pieces of metal managed to strike at her tiny frame. One of the chunks slit an artery from her neck.

The flames continued to blaze, but the debris stopped flying. She looked at her master and crawled to him; ignoring the awful pain in her leg, stomach, and neck. She nudged at his shoulder, trying to wake him up. His eyes fluttered open. "I-Pin," his voice was soft and sad. His eyes looked especially sad.

"Master, are you okay?" she didn't know of the large gash behind him; blood would not stop spilling from the fatal wound.

He didn't answer; merely pecking her bloodied forehead before staying still, dead still.

She heard loud footsteps nearing. "I-Pin! Fon-dono!" It was Basil, followed by the young Lambo and Fuuta.

She turned to them, still laying on the floor. She opened up her palm and showed them the key. "Take it," she said.

Basil's eyes went wide at the sight of the dead Fon and dying I-Pin. How could this happen? "I-Pin..." but he would say no more; bending down, he took the key.

"I-Pin? What happened?" Lambo watched the girl with steady eyes.

She smiled at him. "Sorry, Lambo. Let's play again some other day."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

He took out his pinky. "Pinky promise?"

She wrapped her pinky around his. "Pinky promise."

Lambo simply nodded and turned around, motioning for Basil to start leading the way. Fuuta held Basil's hand and look at his bloodied friend. "Goodbye, I-Pin," he whispered.

As the three walked away, Lambo looked back one more time at his best friend.

I-Pin's smile wavered the farther they got. Her eyes felt heavy and her body was tired. Darkness began to creep in.

_Zài jiàn..._

Two chimes rang throughout the building, signaling the found keys.

. . .

The lounge was eerily quiet. Tsuna noticed a particular shark and x-shaped scarred man missing; his heartbeat hastened as his eyes fell upon Ryohei's group. Where was Bianchi? Then to Fon's...where was Fon? And I-Pin! His breathing got shallow, his mind was spinning; and it only worsened as Gokudera went up to the boxer.

"Hey, Turf Top. Where's my sister?"

Ryohei's face was somber. He didn't answer. The girls next to him looked away from the silver headed bomber. Gokudera's voice shook, "What..?"

"Welcome back, Vongola! I see that there are less of you now, but hey, at least they went out in pairs!"

No one responded.

The child sighed, "My my, are you all mad at me? Hehe, well anyways, congratulations on finding the two keys-even though it cost some sacrifices. Now two new floors are open-Lightning and Cloud. Good job so far. You're all doing better than I expected."

"What did you do to our senses?" Bel finally asked. His voice even.

"Your senses?"

"Yes, our senses. Do you not know what senses are, you imprudent, thick-headed brat?" his voice raised slightly in annoyance.

The child paused before answering. "Oh yes. Your senses. Hm, well all I can say is that after the poison sets in, your senses will weaken for a while."

"Wait, you poisoned us?" Ken was outraged.

"Oh hush, hush. It's not so much of a poison. I guess it's more like a medication that severely destroys your five senses to relax; or something like that. It doesn't really matter. Besides, in a few more days they'll come back; it only depends on how strong you are. Anymore questions?"

No one spoke.

"Good. Well, make sure to stitch up your groups; for tomorrow will be another game day! Dinner's all ready at the dining room. Buonanotte, Vongola.~"

...

"Squalo's gone then?" Dino asked to the remaining Varia. He was saddened to think that the old, loudmouthed school-mate was gone for good.

"What's it look like?" Bel seemed exasperated.

Gokudera was leaving the room when Tsuna called out to him.

"I'm sorry, Judaime. I, uh, I need to be alone for today..."

Tsuna bit his lip as he watched his bomber friend take his leave, alone.

...

The late evening's meal was definitely a quiet one. The Varia ate in silence; though Bel had decided to call it a night soon after finishing his meal. The Arcobaleno were gloomy without their calm Fon and annoying Skull. The girls were still sniffling at the loss of their friend. Tsuna glanced at Lambo. The little Bovino hadn't touched his food; and it was meatballs!-his favorite. He stood up and went towards the grave boy.

"Lambo, aren't you hungry?"

The boy shook his head. "They're too big..."

"Would you like grapes? You like grapes, don't you?" Tsuna didn't want him to not eat.

Lambo nodded his head, his eyes stayed fixed downward; staring at nothing.

This went on until sleep time.

...

Tsuna's ears twitched at a soft sound. He got up and looked around. The-lounge-room was dark. The fireplace had burnt out. Everyone was asleep; or at least looked asleep. The girls slept, huddled together; nearby were Lal and Colonello. Irie slept near them, and Yamamoto and Ryohei rested their heads at the edge of a couch; where the hurt Spanner laid. Reborn rested at a corner. Basil was leaning against the couch that the children slept on. But wait...where was Lambo? Tsuna heard the sound again and went out the door. The-locked-entrance doors were close by, the entire place was dark. Moonlight poured through the curtain-less windows. He listened to the sound and followed it. The sound led him to the back of the hall. The door was open by a crack. He peered in and saw Lambo, sniffling against a hugged pillow. His heart shrunk and fell; how this boy must feel after losing a close friend. He walked in silently and embraced the sniffling Lambo.

"T-tsuna," he whimpered, his voice was already cracking.

"I know, Lambo," Tsuna comforted the boy in a hushed voice.

"I...I wanna go back home..."

"I know..." he sighed. Everyone wanted to get out of this place.

"I miss Mama..."

"I know..." he bit his lip. He missed his mother too; oh how much she'd be worried...especially if she learns that...

"I miss I-Pin..."

"I know," he cursed at himself for cracking his voice. The poor kid. And I-Pin. This is why he didn't want the kids involved, but now...Now it's too late...

"She promised, Tsuna," Lambo's grip on Tsuna tightened.

He could feel the wet tears going through his shirt now. Ah, now the shirt will be stained...

"She promised!" he squeaked and gasped.

A tear slid down Tsuna's cheek. Poor kid...

"She promised. She promised! She promised! SHE PROMISED!" his shouts were slurry and raggedy.

Tsuna knew what was coming, and braced himself.

"And now she's gone...gone...g...WUUAAAHHH!" he bawled with all his heart and soul for his lost friend.

Tsuna's shoulders shook, he tried but he couldn't stop his own tears from coming out.

Outside the room, stood Fuuta. He gripped the doorknob for support as he sniffed. He too was missing his friend.

A soft hand laid on his head. He looked up and saw that it was Basil. His eyes were filled with understanding and regret; regret for not making it on time to protect them.

"I'm really sorry..." he murmured.

Fuuta wanted to shake his head to tell him nothing was his fault, but choked. His throat was burning. Warm arms wrapped around him; telling him it's all right to cry.

So he did...

...

This night was not a happy one. Tomorrow will be no better...


	4. Storm and Cloud

**CLOUD**

"It's pretty dark on this floor, isn't it?" Dino remarked, blinking his eyes hard to adjust to the sudden lack of light.

Romario nodded, "Yes it is. Make sure to watch your step here."

"Don't worry, I will. Hey, Kyoya! Don't wander off too far," Dino called out to the lone boy. Said boy only grunted. The blond Cavallone did not want another casualty to happen. After yesterday's losses, Dino was determined to win at this so-called game. _We'll find those keys; and once we do, I'll kick that stupid kid's ass. _

"Bronco."

"Eh? What is it, Kyoya?" Dino just barely bumped into the boy, the latter had stopped so suddenly.

Hibari glanced at him. "I'll be the one to bite that kid to death, not you. Got that?"

With a chuckle, Dino assured him. "Sure, Kyoya. The kid's yours."

* * *

"I just hope nothing goes wrong."

"What are you worrying about this time, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn questioned his student, eyeing him annoyingly.

Tsuna looked at him, worry definitely spreading through him. "The new groups."

"Oh, that?" The hitman shook his head with a sigh.

"Don't worry, Judaime! I'm pretty sure they won't kill each other," Gokudera patted the small boy on the back.

"Uh, thanks, Gokudera-kun. That's nice to know," Tsuna was still worried.

"C'mon, Tsuna. Don't be such a worrywart! It'll be fine," Yamamoto joined in the patting of Tsuna's back.

With a reluctant sigh, Tsuna agreed.

All the while, Irie stood behind and watched. _I hope Spanner's okay._

**STORM**

The corridors they walked through had small, blinking lights at the sides. There were no other light sources, so they had to stay close together; occasionally bumping into an unsuspecting wall or into one another.

"This place is too dark for Lambo-san!" the little cow boy yelped. He hung tightly on Basil's back, who at the same time held Fuuta's hand.

"Hush up kid," Mammon led the group, being the only one with a high sense of direction.

"Shishishi, only little kids like you are afraid of the dark," Bel teased.

Lambo was insulted. "Lambo-san's not afraid of the dark!"

"Bel, please don't start picking fights," Lussuria sighed from behind.

The blond prince laughed but shut up.

The group of Varia and Basil continued forward, following the hooded illusionist.

Moments later, Mammon found a handle. Pushing open the door, Mammon stepped aside and let Lussuria go in first, then the kids, and finally Bel. Inside, the group was taken aback by what lay ahead of them.

The room was large and humid. A non-sturdy looking metal bridge crossed a tank of deep water underneath; the water gave off a light blue hue in the dimly lit room. Not only that, but there were open wires dangling from the ceiling, dangerously close to the water; sparks snapped and flew. Oh yes, and there was a dark hallway across the bridge; the only way out of the room it seemed.

"Do we have to cross that bridge?" Fuuta asked, gripping Basil's hand tighter.

"It appears so," Basil gave the younger boy an assuring squeeze.

"Come on boys, follow Lussuria-nee," the flamboyant man walked onto the bridge, un-relented as it creaked under him.

The boys followed, Fuuta first, then Lambo, and finally Basil.

"Don't look down," Fuuta told himself, keeping his eyes dead straight.

Mammon and Bel went after them.

The metal bridge creaked and squeaked at every footstep. It was narrow enough for them to walk in a single file only. While walking through, Lambo had somehow fallen behind and was now between Mammon and Bel. He'd been distracted by the water beneath him; the water glowed a pretty blue color in his eyes.

"Hey, kid. Get a move on already; the prince doesn't like to wait," Bel had enough patience to tolerate the boy's shine obsession, but he didn't have enough tolerance when it came to waiting. Patience was not his virtue.

"But Lambo-san likes the shiny water," he mumbled, standing still on his spot.

Bel sighed, "Yeah yeah, whatever ju-"

Before he could finish, there was a loud, metallic groan. The spot Lambo had been standing on finally gave in on his weight. In just a few seconds, the little Bovino was in the water, freaking out.

"Gupya! Lambo-san doesn't know how to swim too good!" he was remarkably still afloat (his hair maybe?), and the small gap he created had started to crumble away towards the other's direction.

"Bel, get over here!" Mammon yelled at the blond prince with slight urgency.

"Lambo!" Basil had not noticed when the boy had slipped past him. He was going to turn back, but couldn't because of a certain illusionist blocking his way. " Mammon-dono, please step aside!"

"I can't. The gap's become too large," Mammon explained while eyeing the water leveled wires.

"Just go on without me. I'll go around and meet you there, Mammon," Bel told his hooded friend.

With slight reluctance, Mammon nodded. "Alright, don't go off dying. You still owe me money, remember?"

Bel chuckled. "Shishi. Yeah, I remember. See ya."

Mammon hesitated for a miniscule second before turning around and leading everyone else out. "Let's go."

Once they left, Bel focused his attention back to the somewhat drowning Lambo. "Quick, give me your hand, kid," he told him, stretching his hand towards him.

Lambo flapped his arms, trying his best to reach the teenager; but his arms were too short.

Bel laid on his stomach to reach farther, his fingers grazed Lambo's wet ones. _Just a little farther..._

A scrape echoed throughout the room. Bel ignored it, thinking it was just metal falling apart-which it was, but...The metal falling apart was part of the ceiling this time. A small piece landed on the teenager's head. _What the?_ His unseen eyes widened as he saw a hanging wire dip closer to the water's edge. _Shit._ "C'mon, kid!"

"Lambo-san's trying!" he strained.

"Try harder!" Bel couldn't understand why he was wasting his time on this kid, but his gut told him to not _not_ do anything.

The wire dipped closer.

"Come. On!"

"Guuuh!" Lambo's fingers grasped Bel's!

_Alright! Pull!_ Bel began lifting the boy out of the water just as the wire made its way into-

"Gupya!"

"Damn!"

Lambo's wet hands caused him to slip through Bel's hands. As he landed in the water, the wire had already spread its electricity through the water. A zapping but muffled sound was all Bel's ears heard. Lambo gasped and choked a stuttered cry of pain as his body thrashed and twitched. The little lights that were on blinked off in a flash; the only light now came from the water's blue hue. The smell of burnt filled Bel's mouth; he gagged at the sight of the poor boy, motionlessly floating. Blood began to swell out the body.

"F-fuck," Bel ripped his gaze from the boy and ran out of the room, back to where they started from. Not knowing which way to go, he randomly turned corners and opened doors, the blinking lights seemed to increase in speed, and his head was getting dizzy; until finally, he came into a sparsely open room. Ahead was another hall; though this one was illuminated just enough for Bel to feel like he'd found the right way.

He walked forward, his head still spinning from the sudden change of events.

A sharp jab to the thigh snapped him out of it. He pulled it out and realized that it was a knife. Suddenly, more knives starting whizzing past him. He dodged easily, quickly running to get to the safety of the lit hall. An abrupt feeling of falling stopped him. The next thing he knew, he was incapacitated. Sharpen pieces of wood impaled his body; some through the legs, some through the stomach, and one scraped his throat too deep. _A pit trap? Really? What a crappy death for a prince...I can't believe I risked my life trying to save a kid...What happened...to...me...?_ The last emotion he felt, was regret for having to lie to a dear friend.

* * *

"Well this is pretty cool," Colonello's voice echoed.

"Yeah. The first auditorium sized room," Spanner sucked on his lollipop, impressed.

"Where do you suppose the key could be?" Hana asked, twisting her head to look at the older members.

Lal sighed, "I doubt there's anything here."

"Let's just shut up and walk, yes?" Verde said indifferently, already ahead of the group.

"All right! That's the spirit green haired guy! Let's keep on walking to the extreme!"

"Spirit?" Verde sighed, "And my name's 'Verde', not 'green haired guy'."

"Don't mind him, Mister. Big Brother's always like that," Kyoko assured.

"I can't imagine what it's like to live with such an animal," the scientist murmured.

Their footsteps echoed rather softly as they walked. As Spanner had said, the room they were currently in was about the size of an auditorium. It was bare, with bleached white walls and square windows lining the edge of the ceiling.

A little while later, they heard a _click_.

"Hahi? Did anyone else here that?" Haru flipped her head back and forth, trying to find the source.

"Yeah, I heard it too," Kyoko said.

"Um, guys? I think I stepped on something," Colonello stepped aside for everyone to see.

It was a small, blue button. Actually, it turned out that there were rows of them. Some other members had stepped on these buttons, too.

"What're they supposed to do?" Hana asked, knowing full well that no one would know the answer.

That's when they heard it. A soft rolling sound. It was increasing in volume, getting closer to them.

"Hahi! What _is_ that?" Haru's eyes were wide with-not fear, but-astonishment.

"Is that what I think it is?" Spanner stopped sucking on his lollipop, also astonished.

Ryohei pumped a fist. "Extreme! It's a-"

"...canon ball?" Colonello finished, gaping.

"A big, canon ball," Kyoko added.

"How shocking," Verde said, sarcasm dripping.

"It's so slow..." Lal sighed, her head tilted to the side as she watched the _big_ canon ball sluggishly roll its way to them; coming from a narrow hall to their side. It gained some speed as it descended from the arched hall.

Ryohei was jumping up and down, punching the air. "I bet I could extremely stop that ball with my bare fists!"

Colonello stepped up. "I bet I can too."

Lal sighed, "Are you both serious?"

"Nah, it just seems like fun. Why don't you join in, Miss Haughty Pants?" Colonello grinned as he saw fiery sparks blaze in the woman's eyes.

"What was that, you brat?" she snapped.

"Oh come on. I'm not that young."

"Hmp. Whatever," she grumbled as she stepped up next to him.

"Mmm, I'll join in too," Spanner stood next to Ryohei.

"What about you, Verde? C'mon, a little extra muscle will help!" Colonello encouraged the green haired male.

With a shrug, Verde lined up.

Ryohei turned to the three girls. "Why don't you girls give it a try? It'll be extremely awesome if you did!"

Kyoko shook her head softly with a smile. "No thanks, Big Brother. I'll watch."

Haru nodded. "Same here!"

Hana on the other hand, walked forward. "Sure, why not?" She was not just going to stand there and wait as the others showed off their strength.

"Everyone ready?" Colonello tightened his bandana.

"Bring it," Hana cracked her knuckles.

"This'll be a new experience," Spanner put away his lollipop.

"Hn," Verde could care less.

"Extreme!"

They all pushed out their arms and held their legs down as the canon ball rolled at them. Its moving inertia was slowly halted by the line of people pushing against it. Their feet skidded across the floor for a few feet. Their palms burned by its quick spinning, and some placed a knee against it. After holding their ground for a while, the ball stopped.

"We did it!" Colonello high-fived Ryohei, wincing a bit when his skidded palms slapped against the other's tough ones.

"Wasn't that extreme, Kyoko?" Ryohei paused. "Kyoko?"

"Where'd she go?" Hana looked around for her missing friend.

"Not just her. Haru too," Lal added, a solemn expression splayed on her face.

"Kyoko!" Ryohei started at the direction they were headed to, not waiting for anyone.

Colonello quickly followed. "Let's go!"

The search for the two girls began.

* * *

A desk rammed into the wooden door with such force, it would've caved open; but it didn't. A chair crashed into it soon after, but the door didn't even have a crack.

"What's this door made of?" Haru griped exasperatedly, putting down the chair.

"It should be broken by now," Kyoko tried the knob once more, but it was locked.

"Are we really trapped in here?" Haru gazed around the small room, breathing rather loudly. Perspiration trailed down her forehead, not bothering to wipe it off.

Kyoko glanced at the frantic friend before kicking the door hopelessly.

The girls had no remembrance as to how they got here. One second they were watching the others holding off the canon ball, and the next they were waking up, sweaty and woozy inside a cramped room. There was a window across the only door, a glaring hot light shined through it. There were no vents, no sources of air conditioning, and certainly no other way out but the door. They had tried anything in the room to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

Haru coughed...and coughed again. She gasped silently as she stared at a bloodied hand.

"Haru, do you smell something funny?" Kyoko sniffed at the air. Her nosed tingled at the strange scent swarming around her. When she got no response, she turned to look at her friend. "Haru? What's wrong?"

Haru stared at the girl before collapsing.

"Haru!" Kyoko lifted the girl and sat her against the wall. "What's happening? What's wrong?"

"I feel weird," she rasped, drooping her head into her bent knees.

Kyoko started but froze when she felt something trailing down from her nose. She wiped it off, and stared at the blood. She was having a nosebleed. But why?

"Kyoko-chan, I don't feel so good," Haru whimpered, angling her head to the other.

Kyoko gasped and nearly cried when she saw her friend's face dripping with blood; her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and even her fingernails! "Haru-chan..!"

Haru coughed violently, blood spurting through her fingers as she tried to contain it.

"Haru!" Kyoko cried, hugging her friend tightly. Haru jerked as she coughed.

"I don't want to die, Kyoko-chan," she moaned, slurring her words a bit.

"You won't, Haru. You won't," Kyoko tried to comfort her friend, when she felt a cough coming up. She pulled away and gagged as she felt her own blood crawling up her throat. She spat the dark red liquid and began to cry when she noticed that Haru had stopped moving. Her body was leaning on the corner, her head slanted in an uncomfortable angle. Blood was still oozing its way out of her body's pores.

"Haru..." Kyoko's tears of blood slid down her cheeks. She was starting to feel lightheaded; the room felt like it was spinning, ever so slowly. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?" she asked to no one. Her heart was beginning to speed up suddenly, and she could finally see the yellow mist hovering inside the room.

* * *

"Kyoko!" Ryohei kicked open one of the many doors from the hall. No one inside.

"Haru! Kyoko!" Lal did the same.

Colonello was ahead of the search, opening doors from the opposite side of Ryohei's. He reached a new door and turned the doorknob. His eyes instantly recognized the two females slumped on the wall. But wait...there was something off with the way they looked-!

Colonello immediately shut the door as a strong aroma made its way to his nose. It stung, badly. He heard the door click; it was locked now.

"Colonello! What happened?" Lal came up to him; she had seen how he reacted.

He rubbed his eyes and sniffed, his nose still tingled. "I'm sorry."

Ryohei sensed his master's discomfort. "Master Colonello, what's wrong?"

Colonello looked Ryohei straight in the eye, not needing to explain. The boxer's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion before realizing what the silent exchange meant. He right away tried opening the door, then he started to beat it open.

"It's no use, Ryohei. I'm sorry."

"No! If they're in there, then we have to-"

"Ryohei! I saw them, okay? We're too late!"

"IT'S NOT TOO LATE!"

"Sasagawa! Calm down and listen to him!" Lal interfered.

"NO, DAMN IT! NO!" Ryohei struck the door once more before crumpling to the floor. "They can't-she can't..." his voice cracked.

Everyone else had just arrived, alarmed at what they've just heard.

"You can't be serious..." Hana looked at the tall blond, her eyes pleading.

"I'm sorry," he said once more.

A chime rang out, signaling either a found key, or the end of the day.

"We gotta go," Lal helped Ryohei get up.

As they trudged back, the hallway had dimmed and spiraled downward; a strange quirk of this building, the need for stairs...is not needed sometimes. It would be a while before they reached the Mist floor. The silent walk back was torturing for Spanner. He knew of the losses, and he wanted to try to comfort the boxer and the girl named 'flower', but couldn't. Colonello too, wanted to comfort Ryohei, but the strong urge to vomit had stopped him from doing so. Instead, he cleared his throat; only to gag and cough. His hand shook as he stared at a bloody palm and fingers. He wiped it off, putting it off his mind. However, as they descended, his breathing began to stagger, and he was starting to feel a sense of vertigo. He would then cough every so often; a worried Lal would glance at him every so often as well.

They had finally reached the first floor, the end of the stretched hall would lead them back to the lounge it seemed; as the sound of a crackling fire was evident. The silence was broken again by Colonello's coughs. Lal finally decided to ask what was wrong, but her mouth snapped shut as she took in her former student's appearance.

His face's pores were leaking with blood...

"Colonello!" she caught the man as he fell forward.

The others had stopped in their tracks and watched at the scene. Colonello was now laying on the floor, bleeding helplessly, and breathing heavily. Lal knelt by his side, her hands fisted on her lap.

"Sorry you guys. Go on without me..." he let out a violent cough, hacking at the blood threatening to choke him. Lal panicked but quickly lay his head in her lap, the slope of his neck helping him a bit.

"Master Colonello..." Ryohei's fists quivered.

"You were an awesome student, Ryohei. Keep strong, alright?" Colonello's sentences were beginning to slur.

"Yeah. I will...Goodbye..." he turned on his heels and ran towards the lounge. Hana and Spanner followed him, murmuring goodbyes and thanks to the dying man just before. Verde was already close to the door, not stopping at all to what had happened.

"Lal..." his voice was reduced to a rasp.

"What is it?" her voice was reduced to a whisper.

With a light smile, he placed a bloodied hand on her cheek. "You're the most frightening but amazingly gorgeous woman I've ever met; even though you're not womanly at all."

She laughed quietly, though her smile wavered. "You idiot."

"But that's what I love about you..."

She stilled as his hand slid limply away her cheek. "Colonello?" This was too much. Again? She lost him _again_? "COLONELLO!"

Tsuna's eyes skimmed the groups. _Where is he?...Where are they? Where?_

"Welcome back, Vongola! How utterly disappointed I am. None of you found a single key. Is this to be expected?" The child sighed. "Well, at least there's less of you now!"

They all stayed quiet. Tensions began rising.

"Aw, what's wrong? Are all of you really that inexperienced with deaths?" The child giggled madly. "What a joke! Hey, I know! How about I give you a little hint? The Lightning floor actually has no key. None what-so-ever. The Sun Key is to be found only in the next floor; the Cloud floor. Soo, good luck and buonanotte!"

...

Tsuna ate his dinner in silence. He felt as if his strength had left him. _How could this happen? Lambo...Kyoko-chan...Haru-chan..._Tears were threatening to spill out, but he blinked them away so as not to worry anyone. Ryohei had gone off alone, not wanting to eat. His eyes were red and strained, and his expression...Tsuna didn't think such a look was possible for Ryohei. Hana, who was now sitting alone at the table, had barely touched her food. The loss of her best friend shook her entire being. Lal had come in a little late, her eyes tired and puffy. She took a seat by the counter. Chrome was shocked when she found that her two friends and Lambo had not made it. She cried softly as she ate. Ken started to ask her why the hell she was crying, but Mukuro shook his head to silence him. The girl then quietly stood up and joined Hana. They didn't know each other, but they knew each other's friends. They mourned in silence. Mammon had rarely taken a bite before heading off to bed. The dining room was getting quieter and quieter.

* * *

Basil laid on a lone couch. _How could I be so irresponsible? Now because of me..._He sighed, shedding just one tear for the Bovino child. Fuuta had cried himself to sleep; tomorrow he would wake up with salty dried cheeks. Hana had left to sleep in another room. Tsuna wept silently for his three friends. _They didn't deserve this._

No one did. No one deserves this.

Kyoko and Haru's death were inspired by 'Cloverfield'.


	5. Cloud

**CLOUD**

"Take care of yourselves," Lal patted the top of Fuuta's head before turning around and leading her group away from Basil's.

The muffled sound of doors opening and closing was the only thing they could all hear. They entered the room nearest to them. It resembled a room from the old times, with its velvet red wallpaper, a floral pattern pasted to it; an elongated table set in a formal fashion was filled with nuts, cherries, and some other fruits. Portraits of what seemed to be the landlords of this mansion hung in rows.

"Do you think this could be that 'Anima' guy?" Hana asked, scrutinizing the center portrait.

"Hm, probably so. He's wearing an embellished ring," Lussuria answers, looking at other portraits nearby.

As they continued gazing at the different portraits, Fuuta eyed the small basket of cherries. He picked one of the tiny red fruits and held it between his index and thumb. He knew he shouldn't; he knew not to take a bite, but what was he to do now? There's nothing left for him now. With slight hesitation, he placed the fruit in his mouth and bit on it. A strong prickle scraped his throat as he swallowed. He gripped at his neck and coughed. Basil was quick to notice that the boy's face was turning blue.

"Fuuta!" Basil was just about to perform the Heimlich maneuver, but the small boy shook his head angrily at him; his eyes pleading him not to.

With a small smile, Fuuta collapsed to the floor; his body still. Hana and Lussuria came over and gasped.

"Why didn't you do anything?" Hana shouted to the stunned Basil, moving over to close Fuuta's eyes.

"Because...he didn't want help...he wanted to..." shaking his head in disbelief, Basil walked away from the lifeless boy, head held in his hands.

Lussuria looked back and forth to Basil and Fuuta, sighing. _How can a child be ready to die?_

The mournful silence was abruptly disrupted by a shrill screech. With a quick look at one another, they ran.

* * *

"Hurry! This way!" Lal was ahead of the group, searching frantically for a light in this pitch darkness. She had found one, barely considered light, but it was close enough.

"Wait! That's a dead end!" Mammon shouted, gaining speed to be next to the former COMSUBIN.

Sure enough, the limited spaced hall had reached its end. Small bookcase to one side and a kerosene lamp sat on a shelf. The screeching from earlier started up again, their pursuers getting closer.

"Just what do they want!" Irie trembled, scared out of his wits. The group had been opening door after door when all of a sudden they heard a screech. They soon heard the shuffle of footsteps and saw the silhouettes of limping people nearing them. They had run away from them, but for some reason, the creatures wouldn't stop coming after them.

"Are they even dangerous?" Spanner had spat out his lollipop during the chase.

"Let's see for ourselves then, shall we?" Verde held a book and flung it towards their pursuers. A soft thud and another screech followed. The shuffling got faster. "Aw crap."

Mammon huffed and began knocking on wall softly, listening closely. After 'finding' the most hollow part, Mammon called out to Lal. "Lal, shoot here!"

Lal immediately complied and aimed at the section. With no hesitation, she pulled the trigger. Blast after blast, the sudden noise and volume of the shots made Irie jump and clasp his hands over his ears. Spanner stayed close to the redhead, wincing at every shot. The creature's screeches could still be heard. They couldn't be seen though, because the other end was just too dark; so when a hand reached out and seized Verde's ankles and wretched him towards the darkness, he let out a startled cry.

"Lal, hurry!" Mammon shouted, body tensing at the sound of a very notable crunch.

An excruciating scream bellowed out from Verde from within the darkness. Spanner and Irie both yelped as they saw blood creeping past the darkness. Another violent crunch, followed by a squelch.

"Lal!"

"I'm done!" Lal kicked away stray pieces of broken wall and was the first to go through. Mammon got a hold of both boys' shoulder and led them out through the wall. The group never stopped to look back as Verde's half-eaten corpse was hurled at them.

* * *

"Which way do we go now?" Hana pulled at her now tousled hair, looking over to Basil.

"I don't know. Um..." his head turned to the direction of another screech.

The three froze when they heard a scream. They looked at each other, and nodded. Lussuria opened the door from the direction of the scream. They knew that following a scream led to bad consequences, but this was different.

_We have to hurry!_ Basil bit his lip, hoping that they would meet up with the others in time.

Their hurried pants and gasps echoed as they ran door to door; fishing open any one they could find. Pitch darkness shrouded them, which is why Mammon lead the way this time; it wasn't easy, but somehow it was manageable. By some miracle, they came through one door and had found themselves in a mezzanine; the floor below inaccessible due to the lack of stairs. To their left was a small stretch of the floor, a lone door at the far end. They heard a familiar crackling sound.

"Hey, look! It's like the lounge!" Irie ran off towards a room that was, like he said, similar to the lounge in the first floor.

Everyone followed, calmly and at ease; this place seemed safe enough-for now at least. The fireplace warmed the room, and there was enough lighting to remove any bouts of paranoia. They relaxed on the couches and rested their tired legs. They've just lost a member, an Arcobaleno. They mustn't lose anyone else.

The screeches were fading now; the only sound came from their running footsteps and pants, with the occasional opening of a door. There were so many doors on this floor! Every time they would come into a new room, it was only a door from every direction. They could only guess and pick a random door to get through. That, and it was horribly lit; little kerosene lamps hung at the sides, but that was only if they were lucky. Most of the time they were in shadowed darkness.

They'd finally barged through another door. The three gasped as they were met with light. But wait, they could hear...voices?

"Guys, look!" Hana smiled in relief as she ran towards the other group; Lal's it seemed.

"Oh hey, you found us," Lal was a little surprised at the new group coming in to join them.

"We heard strange sounds and a scream. We just had to come find any of you," Lussuria explained.

"Where's Fuuta?" Irie asked, knowing the answer already.

The three looked down, sad that they were down a member; a child no less.

"Don't worry. We lost Verde," Mammon tried to comfort, but only succeeded in saddening the others. _Oops._ Mammon decided it best to keep quiet.

For the next few minutes, they all rested, waiting for a signal to continue moving.

* * *

"Have you noticed that this place has bookshelves every where you go?" Dino asks aloud, taking a look around the dark little room they were in.

Hibari grunted, annoyed that the Bronco was talking to himself again. Ignoring him, he examined the bookshelf; although he had to admit, this mansion housed a lot of bookshelves. He pulled out a book, the thin layer of dust surrounding it scattered and floated near his nose causing him to sneeze.

"_Salute_. This place is pretty dusty, isn't it, Romario?" Dino turned to his old pal and trusty partner, grin on his face; but that grin faltered at the next scene that happened.

In just a short moment, Romario was tackled by what seemed to be people, but closer inspection said otherwise.

"Romario!"

"Stay back!" Hibari got ahead of the Bronco, knowing full well that he'd be useless if he didn't stop these...things. He struck one of them in the head, his tonfa easily denting the bone. Instead of dropping dead, the thing snapped and glared at the skylark. It let out a high-pitched screech. Frozen with shock, Hibari was pulled away by Dino just as he was about to get bitten by one of those creatures.

"We gotta get out of here!" The two ran from the creatures, Romario already dead.

It'll be a while 'till they find safety.

* * *

Irie looked around at the group members. Lal and Mammon sat together on a couch, talking quietly. Lussuria was either asleep or daydreaming. Basil was staring deeply at the fire's flames. Hana was seated near a corner, dozing off. His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as he noticed Spanner staring at a full mounted black bear. He shivered. _How could he look at that thing?_ He walked towards the blond boy.

"Spanner, what's wrong?"

"Hey, Shoichi...doesn't this look weird to you?" The poor boy would never receive an answer; because as he slowly faced his red-haired friend, the mounted bear had lifted its paw and swiped at his neck.

Irie watched in horror as Spanner's eyes were filled with upcoming death, his neck spurted blood, nearly snapping off. His lips mouthed 'run' before tumbling to the carpeted floor.

The rest of the group had already begun running from the lounge. Lal grabbed Irie's arm and pulled him to her. They were just about to enter the mezzanine when they heard a shrilled scream.

Basil gasped as he realized that Hana wasn't with them. He quickly turned and was paralyzed with what he saw. He couldn't believe it.

"Basil! What happened? What's wr..." Lal fell silent.

Near the corner, was Hana struggling at the deathly grip around her neck. She kicked and thrashed as much as she could. She hadn't noticed that the thing clutching her was an eerily familiar black hooded figure.

"La morte..." Lussuria trembled at the sight.

Basil snapped out of it and immediately brought out his Metal Edge. He flung the blade at...'Death's' hand, causing it to release Hana before disappearing into the corner. "Hana-dono! Is thee alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine," she coughed but stood up.

The group continued with leaving the room, heading straight for the door that stood at the end of the mezzanine. Irie ran ahead of the group, wanting to get out this place once and for all.

"Slow down!" Mammon knew the kid was scared, but that didn't mean he should go off too far.

Irie ignored the illusionist as he had already reached for the knob. He turned it, and began to push open the door; not realizing that the room was pitch black.

"Stop!" _Why am I trying so hard to save this kid?_ Mammon jerked the boy aside, stopping before the open door. A gasp escaped the illusionist's lips as a dark presence began to materialize. Mammon turned to run, but it was futile; as the said presence grabbed a hold of the illusionist's hood and pulled it down. This was the first and last time the group would see the face underneath that hood; and surely it was the most dreadful expression they'd ever see. Mammon's eyes were widened to no end, filled with utmost terror and despair; tears that would never fall clung to the lids. The presence-which turned out to be 'Death'-wrenched Mammon inside the room; the door slammed shut soon after. The group couldn't move; they were in utter shock. An agonizing scream from within the room pulled them out of their trance.

"We have to go. We have to go! Come on!" Lal tugged on Irie's hand as she lead the group away from this place.

* * *

"This place reminds me of an asylum," Yamamoto stated, clearly at ease.

"The hell is wrong with you? That's not even funny!" Gokudera snapped at the tall baseball lover.

Said baseball lover only shrugged. "Calm mind helps in situations like these. Right, Reborn-san?"

"Right," Reborn agreed, not looking at the two at all; instead, he was carefully watching the Sun guardian. Ryohei had been too quiet; of course, who wouldn't be? The guy just lost his little sister! He sighed inwardly. _These kids really are weak...just look at Tsuna._ He eye twitched in utter annoyance when he saw the brunette's doe-eyes clouded with anxiety.

"Well since there's nothing here, we'd mind as well leave..." Gokudera paused.

"Eh? What's up, Gokudera?" Yamamoto waved a hand in front of the silverette.

With a scowl and slapping the hand away, Gokudera shook his head. "We're trapped in here."

"Eh? What do you mean, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna glanced at his Italian friend.

"The door's gone," Reborn answered, not an ounce of worry.

Just as the mafia boss was about to freak out some more, they heard the slide of a door open.

"How awesome, pyon! It's just like the movies!"

"Ken-sempai, will you please shut up for at least a second?"

"Eh? What was that, green bean?"

"Ken, shut up."

"What? You too, Kakipi?"

"Kufufu, Ken, please quiet down. Our enemies will know we're here...Oh look, our young Vongola friends."

Tsuna gaped. "M-Mukuro? What are you guys doing here?"

"Kufu, that's certainly a rude greeting young Vongola."

As they 'exchanged greetings', no one but Reborn noticed the door behind the Kokuyo group sliding to a close.

A siren began wailing from out of nowhere, startling the groups. Two things happened soon after the siren went off.

One: A large portion of a wall slid open with a creature resembling a walking stick two stories tall trudged forward, flames ablaze on its head and arms. It stood there, unmoving; waiting for anyone to make a move.

And two: Walls sprang up from the floor to the left of the Vongola group. A small opening offered escape from the creature. It was obvious what they were all thinking: make a run for it. But what happened next was certainly not what they had in mind.

Ryohei stepped up, cracking his knuckles as he walked towards the blazing creature.

"B-Big brother? What're you doing?" Tsuna was frantic.

"Turf Top, get your ass back here!" Gokudera yelled at the boxer, fisting his hands.

"Ryohei..?" Reborn stayed calm, consciously aware of what the teen had decided.

With a barely turned head to them, Ryohei said, "Go on without me, guys. I'll hold it off."

All at once, the three friends protested.

"Big brother, no!"

"Turf Top, what the hell are you saying?"

"Sempai, don't do this!"

But that was the final thing Sasagawa Ryohei would say to his friends. He got closer to the awaiting creature, a firm look in his eyes.

"Let's go. He's made up his mind," Reborn had begun walking to the only escape.

"But-" Tsuna couldn't believe the man would give up on-

"His mind's made up, Tsuna. What more do you want?" the Arcobaleno snapped.

Tsuna gulped and nodded his head hesitantly, slowly moving to the man. The other two followed, looking at their boxer friend one last time. The Kokuyo group witnessed this and hurried to them.

_Brave guy_, Ken couldn't help but admire this guy's guts.

The two groups quickly went through the narrow, newly made passage. Turn after turn, corner after corner, the narrowness of these passages; they all realized all too soon that they were running through a maze. Ultimately, they came upon several split ends.

"Shit! We'll never get out of here!" Ken growled, frustrated, he bit his hand, drawing out blood.

"We'll just have to go with the flow," Yamamoto murmured, though a certain silverette heard him.

"How the hell is that supposed to help?"

"Calm down," Mukuro warned the bomber.

Gokudera flicked him off. "Fuck you!"

"Gokudera," Reborn's lethal warning tone fortunately shut the boy up.

"Alright! Alright! I got it, just follow me, yeah?" Tsuna tried to calm the tension between them, but his voice was hardly heard with the siren's whine.

Tsuna now lead the way, with his hyper intuition fairly coming back, it was a safe bet that he was choosing the right course. He crashed straight into a wall, though, when the lights all too suddenly flicked off. He stood up, pinching his nose as the blood began to leak, and strained his eyes seeking for his friends; but it was no use. Pitch blackness enveloped him. His breathing quickened, and he reached out to feel anyone in this darkness.

"H-Hey guys? Where are you?" he called for them, hoping they'd respond with the same tremors his voice had.

But no one answered. At all.

"G-guys?" his eyebrows scrunched tightly together, worry and fear pulsed through his veins. "Guys?" No answer, again. Then he became undoubtedly aware of the lack of blares from the siren; silence was the only thing to be heard-or lack thereof. "Guys! Hey! Where'd you go?" his voice raised in volume and pitch as the sudden loss of his friends' presence disappeared completely. He felt the darkness start to wrap itself around him. "Gokudera! Yamamoto! Reborn!" his voice faltered. "Where'd you all go..?" His body trembled, and he couldn't hold back the scream that had clawed its way out his throat.

That's when he felt a hand lay on his shoulder. "Tsuna. Wake up."

"W-wha..?" Tsuna blinked his eyes open, pupils dilating at the now dark red hue of light illuminating the area.

"It was all an illusion. Luckily we have Mukuro and Fran to stop them," the deep voiced man explained.

"An illusion..?" the sluggish boy had a hard time comprehending what had just happened to him. _That was all just an illusion?_

"Hey, we gotta go!" Ken shouted to them. Tsuna realized that the siren was still ongoing with its whine.

Reborn helped his dizzy student to his feet. Mukuro came up to the two, noticing that Tsuna was in no shape to lead now. With a nod from the older man, Mukuro now lead them. The passages seemed narrower than the previous ones, and the dim red hue was not helping with Tsuna's mild sense of vertigo.

"Oh great," the trident wielder heaved a sigh.

"What is it?" Reborn couldn't see what the problem was; as he was in the way back with Tsuna, helping him walk.

"The paths split in two," Chrome told the man.

"I don't see what's the problem. We'll just go right," Gokudera huffed, already turning to the right passage.

"No wait, pyon!" Ken grabbed the bomber by his hair, stopping him.

"What the hell for? And let go!" he tugged his hair free from the blond.

"I smell something familiar, but...it smells kinda funky," Ken sniffed the air again and again, a look of deep thought.

"So we go left?" Chikusa asked his friend, looking unperturbed.

"Hell no! We go right!" the bomber shouted to them.

"Gokudera, cal-" Yamamoto received a yank to his collar shirt.

"Don't you fucking tell me to 'calm down', fucking Buddha!" he glowered angrily at the taller boy, his grasp tightening.

"Gokudera-kun! Stop, please!" Tsuna rushed to his two friends, his dizziness long gone.

"Hmp, sorry, Judaime," he released his death grip, but not before glaring at the 'fucking Buddha' one last time.

"Why don't you both go to the end and look around the corner. We'll see who's right," Reborn told the sniffing Ken and the glowering Gokudera.

The boys nodded in agreement to that suggestion and did as told; Gokudera to the right, and Ken to the left, Chikusa and Fran following their group member.

With one glance at each other, Gokudera and Ken peered around the corner at the same time. Out of nowhere, a claw wrapped itself around Ken's neck, pulling him into the passage; but not before Chikusa had the instinctive chance to grab a hold of the hem of Ken's shirt, while similarly, Fran with Chikusa's sleeve. The three were gone in just a second.

"Ken! Chikusa!" Mukuro and Chrome hurried after their taken friends. Tsuna's group had started to do the same, but a wall sprang up and blocked their way.

"Oh no!" Tsuna slammed his fists to the obstacle.

"Let's hurry to the other side, Tsuna!" Yamamoto pulled at his friend's arm.

So they went off, running through the 'right' passage.

Chikusa and Fran flew onto a wall after they lost their grip. Chikusa stood up, sweat beginning to drip down his forehead at the immense heat; and when he caught sight of the scene before him, he knew why. The same creature from earlier was here; and Ken was still in its hold.

"Ken!" he took out his yo-yos and ran to his friend, but a sudden heavy object was hurled at him, causing him to slam back into the wall. A horrid and strong smell of burnt filled his nostrils as he peeled the object off of him. Fran inaudibly gasped at the object. Chikusa audibly gasped at the object. It was the burnt and mutilated corpse of Sasagawa Ryohei...

"Ken!" Mukuro rushes in, trident ready to strike-but no Dying Will flame...-but just as he neared the creature, he was effortlessly struck by one of its arms; and he just barely stayed conscious after having his body smash into the wall.

Everything went dark after that hit, including the burning creature; but the siren continued to wail. A sharp yelp escaped Ken's mouth when the creature shoved one of its many slender arms into his abdomen. There was a faint but strong spark of fire as the creature lit up; blazing in all its fiery glory. Even with the siren's wails, Ken's excruciating scream was evidently heard throughout this insufferable maze.

The red hued lights fade back on. A thump was heard; Ken's body lay still, and the creature had vanished.

"Ken!" Mukuro, Chikusa, and Chrome rush to their fallen friend. The harsh scent of cooked intestines made the gag harshly. The victim though, was simply worn out.

"Well this sucks, heh," Ken tried his best to not let his voice show his pain; although he couldn't really feel any physical pain, he could feel it emotionally very much.

"K-Ken," Chrome covered her mouth and with all her strength tried to contain her tears, but failed.

"Tch, don't cry, stu-...Chrome. It'll be fine as long as you live," Ken smiled at himself for finally showing his soft side to her, even if it was too late.

"Ken..." Mukuro's face showed barely any sadness, but his eyes were clearly hurt.

"I'm sorry, Mukuro-sama. I'll uh...I'll meet you all at the other side..." Ken's voice faltered; he felt his sand coming to its last spills. He looked over to his old buddy. "Later, Kakipi; stay strong, 'kay..?" And he was gone. The life in his eyes faded, nothing more than a dead corpse.

"...Hey guys, we gotta go," Fran-totally forgotten 'till now-says to them, knowing full well that he was interrupting a very sensitive moment. But he felt something getting close; he didn't know what it was, but he could feel it.

With a silent nod, Mukuro gets up, helping a tear streaked Chrome to her feet as well. Chikusa, on the other hand, hadn't moved an inch.

"Chikusa..." Mukuro started, but knew his beanie friend would follow soon.

As the three walked away, Chikusa sighed and got to his feet; but not before taking one of his friend's hair pins. "I'll keep strong, Ken. Promise," he murmured, before tagging along with the others.

Tsuna screeched to a halt, causing the others behind him to tumble into him.

"Tsuna, what's the matter?" Yamamoto peers over to his friend.

"Judaime?" Gokudera does the same.

They noticed a tremble reverberate through the small boy. "Wh-What _is _that?" He whimpered.

"What's what?" Yamamoto was thoroughly confused.

Gokudera looked around, trying to see if it was something lurking in the shadows.

Reborn though, he knew what Tsuna meant. He could feel it too. Something menacing was getting close; though it couldn't be here, because there was only two paths for them: forward or left. He could see nothing coming...until...

"Hurry!" ahead, Mukuro and Chrome appeared, turning the corner and nearly crashing into the adjacent wall. Chikusa ran after them.

"Mukuro! Chrome!" Tsuna smiled in relief, but his relief instantly deflated.

In just a matter of seconds, this happens: Mukuro and Chrome stopped in their tracks, turning back to Chikusa, who in turn looked back to Fran, who had stopped dead in his tracks. The green haired boy's usual expressionless face was now scrunched up in fear and dread. He'd turned around slowly-for the presence he felt from earlier was oh so very strong-and before he could blink-or anyone, for that matter-the poor boy was impaled by an eerily familiar scythe and-with its momentum-was affixed to the wall. His head fell limp, a sudden and quick death. Soon after, everyone had snapped out of it and immediately made way to the only passage left for them; and they ran.

The twists and turns, the red hue, the siren, and the panic was driving Tsuna insane! He had to get out of this maze. Out of this floor. Out of this mansion! Miraculously, they'd all entered an open spaced area. They caught sight of a black, door-like spot at one side. Having no choice but to go there, they trudged onward. As if the maze loved playing with them, the red hue was gone; replaced by none other than darkness. Right after the lights went out, a shrilling shriek was heard; startling the wits end out of mostly everyone.

"W-What was that?" Tsuna and Yamamoto yelped, looking around helplessly.

"Stay close!" Reborn instructed them.

As sudden as the lights turned off, they turned back on. Chrome went pale and let out a startled cry when she saw the figure behind Reborn.

"Chrome? Wha..." Mukuro went pale also.

Slowly, everyone directed their attention to the hitman; paralyzed at the sight. Said hitman, knew there was something behind him, but he just couldn't move! His whole body went stiff for some reason...Maybe this was fear? Making eye contact with everyone, he spoke.

"Get. Out of here...NOW!" in a split second, the hitman skillfully shot the figure and followed the others as they made a beeline to the dark spot-like door. Another shrill shriek rang out; and some couldn't resist another look, which they instantly regretted.

The humanoid creature had opened its eyes-an alarming, penetrating yellow-and was semi crawling and walking-all while twitching disturbingly-its way towards them. The thing could've come out in some horror movie-with its lipless mouth, long, disheveled black hair, and of course, its shriek-but it's best to not think of that now!

The dark spot ended up being a pitch black passage. Luckily though, it went straight ahead. As they ran, the siren began to fade, and the creature's shrieks had stopped. Soon, they reached the end. As soon as they entered the room, they shut the door.

"You gotta be shitting me," Gokudera sounded genuinely surprised.

"This place is just like the lounge!" Yamamoto said, out of breath.

"Mind as well take this chance to rest," Mukuro says, exhausted, falling into one of the couches; Chrome and Chikusa mimicked him, though without the falling.

Reborn watched as Tsuna and his guardians sat near the fireplace, remaining quiet. _This place really likes to fuck with us__._ He took a seat on a lone armchair.

* * *

They had been looking around for a while too long. Glass cases here and there, displaying a variety of objects; from old utensils to pieces of machinery to old-fashioned clothes. This blue hued room was like an exhibit; or maybe it was.

"Why do you think they got all this, Kyoya?" Dino asks, examining a particular display of old artillery.

The boy simply ignored the Bronco, determined to find the damn key. He had a hunch that it would be in here; with these kinds of displays, who wouldn't? As soon as that he thought that, his eyes caught the sight of something glinting on the floor. With no hesitation, he went towards it and picked it up. This key was such an evil little thing. Everyone by now is risking their life just to find it. He frowned, perturbed of what was to come after getting a hold of it.

With a quick step to the side, Hibari managed to dodge the massive blade that came down at him; creating a small fissure on the impacted gray concrete floor.

"Kyoya! What-" Dino couldn't help but gawk at the creature near his companion.

It was huge-the size of an average bear on its hind feet-and bulky-the thing was practically all muscle; and it was headless. The massive blade it held was a perfect weapon for this headless behemoth.

Hibari struck the behemoth with his tonfa, hardly dealing any damage at all; causing the skylark to scowl deeply. The behemoth raised its blade-hardly noticing his prey attacking him-and struck down. Hibari dodged again, his combat senses coming back to him; though it wasn't enough for him to notice the two upcoming creatures from before. He winced sharply as he felt two sets of teeth bite down one of his legs.

"Kyoya!" Dino whipped out his trusty, leather whip and lashed out at the two creatures; but alas, without his men he is back to being useless. Hibari hissed as the whip left a nasty, red mark on his cheek. He instantly brought up his tonfa in defense as the behemoth launched a punch at him; the strong force downward caused a small crater to form under him. The two creatures were now starting to actually chew on his leg. With swift reflexes, Hibari struck down-hard-at the creatures' heads, an audible and satisfying crack resonated the room. The creatures let go, and ran off.

"Kyoya, are you alright?" Dino started to get closer, but was stopped when Hibari snapped at him not to.

"Don't come near me, Bronco! Take the key, and get the hell out; I'll deal with this mammoth." He tossed the key to Dino, in a way that even an idiot with poor coordination could catch it.

Dino caught it, and hesitated for a bit; though he knew saying anything was useless, mind as well. Biting his lower lip, he said, "Be quick. We'll see you later, Kyoya." With that, he left, not turning back even after hearing the sounds of tonfa meeting fleshy muscle.

Hibari continued attacking the creature, increasing his strength and speed. The creature in turn would either strike down its blade-which was rather slow-or strike with its fists; the latter was easy to dodge if Hibari's leg wasn't half chewed off. A few blows later, the cloud guardian slipped on one of the crumbled rocks of concrete, giving the beast the opportunity to seize one of Hibari's arms. Without giving him time to struggle, the beast effortlessly wrenched off his arm. Hibari froze and turned to look at his now armless socket; the sudden feeling of losing an arm was unlike any feeling he'd ever felt. The pain came much later.

A bulky hand wrapped itself around Hibari's abdomen, lifting him up. Breathing became somewhat difficult, and he was starting to feel the effects of losing too much blood. He was genuinely surprised to see that the behemoth actually had a face; if having three lidless eyes and a circle shaped mouth mashed between its shoulders even considered a face. He beat at the face several times, stabbing into one of its eyes in the process, before the creature finally let out-what seemed to be-a frustrated howl. The next thing Hibari knows, is the feeling of flying through the air, before smashing into a wall. Just before his body could slide down, the massive blade impaled him, keeping him in place; and keeping him alive, for now. The behemoth trudged towards Hibari in a slow and steady pace; giving Hibari the time to recover his breathing, which only resulted in him coughing out his blood. The creature was soon 'facing' the bloodied skylark; staring at him, waiting for some sort of response.

Hibari's blood boiled in fury, malice, and humility. Putting all his strength, anger, and regret, he raised his one tonfa, and smashed it into the behemoth's face; a pleasing crack resounded in his ears before hearing the creature howl in anger; and without giving the skylark any time, it swiped its razor sharp fingernails across his face until it was sure that the boy didn't have a face.

* * *

"Oh? Look what I found," Mukuro said to the others, showing them a small trapdoor near the corner of the room.

"How convenient," murmured Reborn, who was polishing his gun.

"Reborn-san, how much ammo have you got?" Gokudera asked, eyeing the gun.

"Enough."

And with that, the silence continued; until-

"Tsuna!"

"Eh?"

In just a flash, Yamamoto had pushed Tsuna off the couch he was sitting on, saving him from the clutches of an all too familiar walking stick; sadly though, the baseball lover was grabbed instead.

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna scrambled to his feet, starting towards his friend but was halted when he saw his bomber friend run past him. "Gokudera-kun!"

Said bomber paused, but looked at his boss. "Don't worry, Judaime! I'll help Yamamoto! You go on ahead!"

"But Gokude-"

"Please, Tsuna," his green eyes pleaded to the brunette's brown ones.

Before Tsuna could reply, Reborn came up to him. "Let's go."

With one final look back, the tutor and student left; following the Kokuyo group into the trapdoor.

Gokudera was already preparing his dynamite as he neared the creature. Yamamoto swung his blade at swift speed, managing to shield himself from the long fingers it had.

"Yamamoto!" Gokudera called out to him.

With quick realization, Yamamoto backed away as several of the explosives detonated. He squinted his eyes as the smoke cleared away, hoping that the dynamite did some damage. A flash of white shot out towards him, which he just barely dodged. The hand collided into a wall. He took this chance to get on top of the arm and run on top of it; positioning his sword as he got closer.

_Shajiku no Ame _

He thrust his sword straight at the creature's skull; but with a quick notice of an upcoming hand, he was forced to jump to the side. _Not done yet!_

_Utsushi no Ame_

He swung his blade diagonally, ready to switch positions when-

_Crap! I can't use my flames!_

He was in midair, unable to get away as the hand neared him. He suddenly heard Gokudera shouting to him about covering his face; so he did. He felt a sharp but subtle pain as an explosive set off nearby; causing him to move-or fly, in this case-away from the creature. He landed by a wall, and his blade slid away from him.

"Idiot, move!" Gokudera rushed to his companion, but was slammed against another wall.

A thin finger pierced through Yamamoto's shoulder, another soon followed, but on his leg this time. Yamamoto struggled to get free, but only succeeded in deepening the skewering fingers. His eyes widened in shock as he saw the creature lighting up, fire trailed through its arms.

"Yamamoto!"

Too late. The fire reached his body. He screamed at the intense heat smoldering him. More fingers impaled him. One by one. Gokudera roared in anger as he ran straight towards the lit creature.

"Let him go, you fucking torch!" He took out more dynamite and aimed it at its head. The result was a tight grasp around him. He gasped at the heat, as it burned through his clothes and then his skin. Knowing what was to come, he spat out his blood and revealed more dynamite. With a scowl embedded to his bloody lips, he used the creature's own fire to light them up. "Blow up to shitty pieces, motherfucker."

The explosion was enough to destroy the entire surrounding area.

* * *

_Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto!...Please be okay..._Tsuna hoped with all his heart and soul that his best friends were okay.

The group had been running in evenly spaced corridors. The floors were wooden this time instead of the usual concrete; and the walls were a dull brown. There footsteps sounded like a stampede with the echoes bouncing all over the place. A normal looking door lay ahead of them. With a quick look at one another, they went inside.

Tsuna gaped at the sight. This couldn't be right. They had just finished running through corridors, and now...

"Kufu, that little twerp has a sick sense of humor," Mukuro's eye twitched, annoyed that what they had entered was the inside of a windmill. [1]

They surveyed the room, looking for a way out. Reborn pointed out a small opening accessible by a thick column.

"How do we get up there, though?" Tsuna asked.

Reborn nodded to the vertical shaft. "We climb up, and then use those horizontal platforms to get to the opening."

Tsuna gulped. Would he be able to climb that pole? While it moved?

They got up the moving platform, steadying themselves.

"Where's the music coming from?" Chrome spoke suddenly, peering at the others for an answer.

"I was wondering the same thing," Mukuro murmured. Sighing, he added, "Such an uncanny melody."

The melody sounded as if it were played by an accordion. Mukuro was right about the melody being uncanny; but it also felt joyful and unique. A perfect song for a windmill. [2]

A hiss followed by a squeak from Chrome made everyone come back to reality.

"Nagi? Are you alright?" Mukuro ran-and slightly stumbled-back to the young girl; he'd strayed away from her to examine the climb up.

"I'm fine. Sorry," Chrome wiped the misted liquid off her face.

"What happened?" Tsuna came up to them, worried.

"...Something sprayed me. Over there," she pointed to a column right at the edge of the platform. Small black nozzles were embedded into it.

"Let's get going," Reborn said to them.

Mukuro offered a hand to Chrome. "I'll give you a lift, Nagi."

"E-eh?"

"Climb on my back; you don't seem too familiar with climbing poles."

She hesitated but finally nodded her head.

The two went up first, then Chikusa. Reborn looked at Tsuna, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Need a lift, Dame-Tsuna?" a smirk forming onto his lips.

The boy was startled by the embarrassing offer. "E-eh? N-n-no! It's fine! I can climb it!"

"Oh? Since when?" his usual joking manner had come back it seems.

Tsuna could feel his face go red. Instead of answering, he walked up to the pole and started climbing. "If I can climb cliffs, then this'll be easy!"

Reborn mentally gave himself a pat on the back, proud that his no-good student was growing up. The Kokuyo group had already made it to the opening; and they waited patiently for the other two. Tsuna had a hard time climbing the pole since it rotated; and the vertigo was maddening! He somehow managed to get onto the platforms attached to the vertical pole. It was somewhat easier; somewhat, because he still had to jump onto the column while the thing spun. In the end, though, Reborn kicked him on the arse, telling him to hurry up; he easily jumped afterward.

They heard a chime as they'd gone into the opening.

_Yes! We can go back now!_ Tsuna and the others hurried back.

* * *

"Which way now?" Hana was exasperated. She was sick and tired of coming into a room full of doors. As of now, they were inside another room with doors. West, North, or East?

"Let's go to the right," Lal says, already heading there. Just then, the chime rings.

Hana perked up at the sound. "We can leave now!"

"Hana, slow down!" Lal called to her, but the girl had gone into the room. The rest followed, equally as fast; but then Irie tripped.

"Irie-dono!" Basil stopped to help him up.

Lal froze mid-step, looking over to the boys. She looked back to Hana, and- "Hana! Wait, stop!"

Hana had opened up a door and had failed to notice the lack of lighting inside. "Look, there's stairs! We can-" the door shut behind her.

"Hana!" Lal ran to the door, taking out her gun. "I'm coming, just wait!"

The door banged as Hana hit it with her fists, she tried the knob, but it was no use. "Hey! Get me out! Please!" She gasped when she felt something around her ankles. Looking down, she saw that it was a black mist. "W-what the..?" She screamed as the mist pulled her down the stairs. Her hands scrambled for something to hold onto. Gunshots punctured the door until it was kicked open by Lal.

"Hana-!" Lal watched in shock as the girl was dragged down the stairs, her scream faded as she went deeper.

"Lal-dono, Dino-dono has come!"

"Dino..?"

Sure enough, the Bronco was there, breathing hard. He said that he'd come through the door across this one-the West door.

"So it wasn't this one..." Lal looked into the dark stair room one last time.

As they exited the room and back into the previous one, the North door opened.

Mukuro heaved a sigh, "Never mind, not this one!"

Soon, all of the groups had joined up and left the floor together; what luck...

. . .

It pained Tsuna to see the small group of people. The ones who made it-

Tsuna shook his head._ No! I won't believe it!_

"Ciao again, Vongola! Oh wow! How amazing! You've lost so many members today, huh? Even after I granted you all the use of your weapons, you still lost. Hm, what a shame. You disappoint me, Vongola. However, I am quite happy to see that Hibari-san is gone. I mean really! That guy was so...so irritating! Don't you all think so too?"

"Don't you talk that way about Kyoya, you stupid brat!" Dino snapped.

The child giggled. "Aw, don't be mad, Cavallone. I'm only saying what's true. Hehe, and look at you. You've lost your right-hand! How utterly useless you must be!"

"Shut up!" he fisted his hands to the point that the knuckles looked white.

The child only laughed some more. "Oh and look! Not only you, but the Decimo, too! Oh but wait, he lost _all_ of his friends! What a shame, really. Hehe, but at least they died protecting you; even though they were fighting with no chance of winning! They really are weak, aren't they? It's a good thing they're de-"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Everyone turned their heads to the young Vongola boss; stunned by the outburst.

"Aw don't be ma-"

"Just SHUT. UP!" his face was contorted with anger.

"Tsuna..." Lal faltered.

"You're fucking sick! You know that? Just plain sick! Why don't you come out from hiding, you weak little brat? You're going to fucking pay for all you've done! Nobody messes with my friends! NOBODY! You're going to regret ever doing this so-called shitting game! Come out! NOW!" he breathed hard, his hands balled up in fists.

"...Better watch what you say, Decimo," the child warned, but then giggled. "Today was fun, wasn't it? Heehee! Buonanotte!"

...

"That fucking brat!"

"Tsuna, calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down? !How am I supposed to keep calm at a time like this, Reborn? Everyone's dead! Ok? Dead!"

"..."

"I'll fucking kill them!" he punched at a wall. "Kill! Kill! Kill! KILL!" His punches get harder, and the wall eventually breaks. He doesn't stop, even when his knuckles were bleeding.

Chrome began to cry; heartbroken for her boss. She then remembered Ken, and Fran, a boy that they hardly knew. She wept even harder. Mukuro comforted her with a semi-hug, an arm around her shoulders. He couldn't cry, but he certainly felt horrible. Chikusa griped Ken's hairpin tighter, his promise in mind.

Irie openly cried on a couch. He lost a friend that was close to him in another future; not to mention that Mammon saved his life...Dino sat alone on an armchair, distressed that his old friend and right-hand is gone; that he was so useless and couldn't do anything...And Hibari...the poor kid.

Tsuna finally stopped bashing at the wall. His abused hands were bleeding, and he was sure that tomorrow they'd hurt a whole lot. He sat on the floor, staring straight ahead. Images of his friends come to mind. Memories of them together. Memories of how they all met. Memories of when they laughed. Memories of helping each other. Memories of fighting side by side. Memories of...

"Are they all really gone..?" his voice was but a mere whisper.

A pillow was placed on his head. He looked up to see his tutor, Reborn. The man looked at him with an understanding but glum expression.

"Don't hold it in, Dame-Tsuna," he said, then headed off to his spot near a corner.

Tsuna hugged the pillow tightly in his arms, his breathing began to stagger. His mind was getting hazy. His throat began to burn. His eyes...

_Kyoko-chan. Haru-chan. Lambo, I-Pin, and Fuuta...Big Brother. Colonello. Yamamoto. Gokudera-kun. Even Hibari-san and the Varia! And Ken and Fran and Spanner...Why?_

"Mom..." he gasped. "Mom...oh no...poor, Mom...she'll find out and-!" his voice finally croaked. As soon as the tears came, there was no stopping them. They just poured and poured. "Everyone's gone! Everyone!" The image of Gokudera's eyes flashed into his mind. _Ready to die..._He let out a small cry, then a sob; and his sobs eventually turned into wails...

...

Reborn sighed, and stood up, walking towards a limp Tsuna. "Dame-Tsuna, you'll die if you sleep like that," he muttered, annoyed. He pulled the sleeping boy's face from the pillow; laying the boy in a safe position to sleep. As he walked back to his spot, he heard someone murmuring.

"I'm the only one left...why?" Lussuria held his knees together, rocking back and forth. "First Levi. Then Boss and Squ. Then Bel and Mammon; those two tried to save kids..." he whimpered.

Mukuro got up, picking up an already asleep Chrome. Chikusa followed-as always-silently behind. He passed by Basil, who still hadn't fallen asleep.

"I could've saved them every time...and they were so close to me...how could I?" the boy spoke in Italian with a choked voice.

Mukuro paused. "I could've saved him too...and he was right next to me," his Italian was fluid and heartbroken.

A fresh new set of tears welled up in Basil's eyes. He wept silently. For the children. For his friends. And for himself. His utterly useless and weak self...

* * *

Today was far worse than yesterday; and what of tomorrow? Who'll perish this time? This sick, cruel game won't get any better...

[1] & [2] The windmill from Ocarina of Time and the song played inside. The craziness of the mansion and that game's location fit.

I understand how useless most characters are in the fic, but just keep in mind that they're pretty much regular humans with that 'poison' and no flame use. (flame, get it? Haha)


	6. Sun

"Why didn't you put that one?"

"Backup."

Tsuna watched with unblinking eyes as Reborn settled a bullet inside his breast-pocket. He chugged down the rest of his water as he watched. His stomach just couldn't handle food at the moment; so he settled for just water. As he mentally prepared himself, the remaining members entered the lounge. The young Boss noticed someone missing; Chrome. He stood from the floor ready to ask.

Mukuro shook his head sadly, "During her sleep."

"No…"

A hand placed itself on his shoulder. "Better to go without knowing, Sawada," Lal said solemnly.

Tsuna slapped her hand away, protesting loudly, "Better to not go at all!"

"Tsuna," Reborn's stern voice brought everyone's attention to him. "Let's go."

**SUN**

Sand brown carpet and maroon wooded walls. A chandelier with encased candles instead of bulbs and various closed doors.

"This scene is beginning to bore me," Mukuro muttered, surveying the room.

Lussuria eyed the brightly lit chandelier, his shaded spectacles glinting. "Do you think we can use those candles?"

Lal had her arms crossed, goose-bumps trailing her bare arms. "For what?"

_Thump Thump Thump_

Lussuria flinched. "For them."

Reborn readied his gun, as did Lal. The double doors ahead of the group were slammed open. The same creatures from yesterday appeared, including the bulky, muscled behemoth. The gun duo fired at the chandelier, which shattered in a fiery fashion. The creatures shrieked in surprise, stalled.

Everyone scattered

"Run!" Dino grasped the petrified Irie's hand and proceeded to run to a nearby door, only to crash right into said door face-first. He cursed and fumbled with the doorknob. Managing to get it to open, he half tumbled and ran inside, Irie in tow. It didn't help that past the door turned out to be an endless corridor with no lighting and barely enough space to stand side-by-side.

...

Tsuna skid to a halt when he realized the room he'd entered was poorly floored. Gapes of empty space leading to who-knows-where were scattered throughout the floor. He had just barely fallen right through one.

"Tsuna!"

He flinched at the sudden call and lost his footing. "Ah-!" He fell right into the dark pit.

"Shit!" Reborn kicked the creature that had gotten too close to his student; but failed to notice the holes littering the floor. He refilled his cartridge and went after the boy.

..

How unlucky they were to find a pitch-black corridor; so be it, they still ran in. The creatures' shrieks faded gradually as they ran in deeper. Their footsteps and breathing were all they heard soon after. Mukuro and Chikusa though, continued to run.

..

Dino cursed as he bumped into the corridor's wall, again. He still held Irie's hand who had not spoken a word; until the boy sensed something unsettling.

"D-Dino-san? Why did it get quiet?"

They sensed something as well. The darkness wasn't helping, but they knew it was near.

..

"Mukuro-sama, the floor-"

Dino stiffened. He tapped his foot and-

Right beneath their feet, the platform opened.

"Gwah!"

"Ahh!"

"Oya?"

"…"

The four males experienced the sensation of freefalling as they free-fell seven yards of perpetual darkness before landing and sliding down an elaborate slide. Slick smoothed and continually angled downward with sharp turns or spirals, there was no way off this hell ride; and the bottomless pit down, **down** below proved it all the more.

Dino gripped the sides of this slide as hard as he could, afraid of not knowing what lay ahead; since he had landed backwards. Chikusa managed to remain passive, and Shoichi grit his teeth as his slide sharply turned.

This HAD to be some joke. People are dead, dying or will die and this brat thinks it's funny to place a never-ending SLIDE? _Kufu, the brat's sick humor is worse than mine. _Up above, Irie passed by screaming for his life, his slide just barely colliding with Mukuro's.

* * *

Lal dodged yet another piece of the ceiling as she hurried through the empty room. She breathed steadily, the former COMSUBIN experienced in situations like these. _Breathe in. Now out. Steady. Stead-_The place shook suddenly causing a major portion of the ceiling to come straight down. Lal halted just as suddenly, but with so much plaster layering the floor she slipped and hit the floor headfirst. The ceiling came falling down.

The creature's head flew into the wall, squelching as it did. Lussuria breathed out, putting his knee down; but he remained in attack mode. More of the mutilated creatures staggered their way to the man, arms reaching for him. Lussuria spat at the floor, clenching his fists. "Who wants to lose a head?" he asks apathetically; no time for fear. He swung his fist, readying his bloodied, metal knee.

* * *

Tsuna gasped for air, choking as he did. His legs kicked out furiously as he swam away from the chunks of ceiling falling into the water. He could've sworn he heard Reborn's gunshot earlier, but right now he needed to get out of the water. His arms burned from incorrectly swimming, but he didn't care. _Land. Land. Where…_He caught sight of a fedora floating freely in the water. "Reborn?" A shadow loomed over him. Tsuna gazed upward, his heart sank. A slab of rocky ceiling was dropping right over him.

* * *

He had no recollection of how he got here, but here he was. Standing in nowhere particular, surrounded by globs of light. He must've cracked his glasses because he was seeing at least dozens of these lights. He didn't feel safe nor did he feel in danger. He removed his beanie then swatted the orbs away from him. But the orbs were unaffected. They merely continued to hover around him, like lethargic flies. Releasing his beanie, the boy moved forward. _Mukuro-sama…_The beanie was left, forgotten.

* * *

Heaving a sigh, Lussuria wiped the sweat off his forehead. He'd long finished all the creatures that attacked him, but the room was never-ending it seemed; and the temperature was rising, fast. It wouldn't be long before he'd collapse of dehydration. _I've got to keep going. For Boss. For Squ. For Bel. Viper, and Levi. Keep going…_his vision wavered. Lussuria faltered.

_**Drip**_

"…Wha…" he mumbled, dumbfounded. Starting with just a sprinkle, water was soon gushing from above. Lussuria scrambled out of the way, yelping as part of the ceiling caved in and water flooded the area. The water drained fairly quickly, leaving puddles everywhere. Lussuria heard a moan. At first he thought it might've been a creature, but upon investigating he found that it came from a spiky brunette.

* * *

After countless of sloped stairs he finally reached an ending. Ornate double doors stood before him. Its handles curved and gold. Using both of his hands, Basil took hold of both handles and pushed. The doors swung open without a sound. From having gone through a torched lit hall with every shade of red everywhere, this scene was completely different and out of place. He adjusted his eyes, blinking rapidly. It was a ballroom with a crystal blue chandelier, light splashes of lilac on sea blue walls, ornaments of every blue imaginable. Everything was blue. On opposite ends there was a circular window filling the entire wall with what looked to be glimmering stars past it, and another set of double doors.

Those doors opened.

...

He could see a small opening up ahead. Mukuro braced himself for what was to come as he slid through the opening, experiencing darkness once again; and immediately jumped out of the way from an incoming blade. He was just about to run when another blade came from the side; he missed it narrowly. Fully taking in his surroundings, Mukuro noticed he was in yet another corridor and that the two blades swung back and forth. "Pendulums of doom, how cliché," he muttered, rolling his heterochromatic eyes. Passing by the bladed pendulums with ease, Mukuro spotted two lone double doors. Not waiting for suspense, he pushed them open.

_Oh? This is quite a change,_ he thought, surveying the blue shaded ballroom. To him it looked like something straight out of a Disney film what with its crystal chandelier radiating in halo blue, dying the room a soft blue hue and its fancy, ornate walls. Nothing appealing, but he did enjoy the change. Especially the round window taking up the entire opposite wall; because near the window was a lone glass table, and laying on the table was a key.

He knew it was too easy. He knew. He could _sense _it. But still…

Grinning victoriously, the tall boy strode towards the prize. The key was grainy yet it glittered. _This is what we're risking our lives for, hm? _"Chikusa, take it," he told his companion whom had appeared just a few moments ago, spheres of light fading around him. Tossing the little thing to Chikusa, Mukuro immediately brought out his trident. Just as it finished extending, a well familiar scythe clashed against it.

"Kufufu, I should feel honored. Fighting the famous Mr. 'Death'," he chuckled.

"Mukuro-sama!" Chikusa started.

"Chikusa," even being more than five yards apart, the trident wielder looked Chikusa in the eye, "live on. For all of us."

"Mu-!"

"Chikusa-dono! We must make haste!" Basil had finally decided to interfere. He took hold of Chikusa's arm and pulled him into the staircase where he came from.

"L-let go! Mukuro-sama!" Chikusa was too weak to fight back. "Mukuro-sama!" The doors shut with no sound.

"Kufu, rather noisy. Now, let's see who'll win."

Mukuro pushed back the scythe and jabbed his trident. The hooded 'Death' merely dissipated and reappeared beside Mukuro, swinging its scythe right at him. "Oya?"

Mukuro burst into flames.

"Kufufu, you'll have to try harder than that," Mukuro's disembodied voice spoke. The room began to swirl, and his ashes misted upward and swarmed around 'Death'. Mukuro then jumped out from behind, his red eye dripping blood while a five appeared on the bloodied eye. Shredded cloths fell onto the floor, the creature stilled. Mukuro did not stop there, instead he proceeded to jab multiple times at the creature. He was brought to a halt when he tried pulling back his trident. The creature took hold of the weapon, and it turned.

Mukuro grimaced. "Well, that's a lovely face you got there, Mr. Death."

'Death' roared angrily and took the trident from the boy.

Not expecting it at all, Mukuro was stunned when he felt his own weapon pierce his body. His bloody lips curved into a smirk. "Oya? That's not very nice of you, Mr. Death." He grunted in pain when he was lifted off the floor. He soon found himself face to face with the creature, its scythe coming in between them. "Kufufu."

A thin red line encircled the smirking boy's neck.

* * *

Blood ran down her face, blurring her view. She used the brick walls for support, exhausted. She hadn't encountered any more problems after that ceiling incident.

"Lal!" She turned towards the call, glad she wasn't alone anymore.

Dino was running, waving at her. His face met the floor not a second later.

* * *

One swipe and his face would've been mauled. He backed away slowly, not sure if the creature could see him; it was headless after all. His back bumped into something…something fleshy. He knew what it was right away and scampered away through the murky dungeon and ran past an arched opening. The opening closed behind him, separating him from the creatures. He breathed loudly, shaking from fear. His glasses were dirty so he decided to wipe them clean. As he removed them, the torches burned out. His heart beat sped up when the unmistakable sound of something breathing echoed in the area. His wide eyes widened more as a pair of vivid yellow eyes stared at him. He fumbled with his glasses, staring all the while, and placed them back on; and just as the darkness became clearer so did the eyes. An inch away clearer.

"Whuaaaaaa!" Irie screamed and ran away from the yellow eyed creature, clearly sensing the creature crawling after him.

Irie was lucky to have gone the right way…

The chime rang dully.

Lussuria led the way, checking every corner to make sure things were clear. Trailing not too far were Tsuna and the hitman tutor, Reborn. Both were soaked from the water. Tsuna had to lean against Reborn, his ankle sprained. He felt beaten, weak. Powerless. Reborn though, merely held his gun, ready to-

He shot at Lussuria.

"R-Reborn-!"

"Quiet you idiot," the hitman snapped, strained eyes narrowing.

Lussuria sat upright, the shot taking him by surprise. He realized then that a creature had snuck behind him. "Oh no…"

Shriek after shriek. The place echoed with shrieks.

They were running again. Up stairs. The stomps of the monster stampede not too far. Tsuna yelped when a creature came launching at him from a neighboring hall. Reborn pushed him away and shot the thing without a second thought. More creatures came, "Keep running!" he tells his student before continuing his shooting. He found it useless as a new horde came from another hall. Cursing, he ran after his small group, coughing on the way. _!_ Looking at his palm-

"Ahhhhh!" Snapping his head back up, Reborn hurried.

Tsuna shook the terrified Irie who had run into them. "Irie! It's ok! You're safe now!"

Lussuria rested a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "We have to keep moving."

Not a moment later, Reborn had reached the group and off they went.

The stampede following them never ceased, and it seemed-no. It _did_ grow larger. The stairway began to narrow and spiral, with fewer halls. Ascending higher on the way, the group encountered Lal and Dino resting on the steps. Running, running, and running. Never stopping. Tsuna and Lal managed to ignore their injuries by the help of adrenaline. No more halls, just torches. It was like entering a medieval castle's staircase, with a horde of corpses chasing after you. Descending and nearly crashing into them were Basil and Chikusa. _Mukuro…_Tsuna strained to hear what Basil had just said. "Passed a hallway! Hurry!" he said. The group's stumbling footsteps and the horde of screeching creatures thundering their way for them was all too deafening for Tsuna; not to mention the occasional gunshot from his tutor.

All too suddenly, Reborn stopped. Tsuna cringed at the painful way the hitman coughed. His breathing hitched as he watched Reborn take a seat on the carpeted stairs. _No…_

"That mist that sprayed Chrome, it got me too," Reborn explained. _No!_

The creatures neared, they wouldn't stop.

"Reborn, please!" he pleaded.

The hitman's hand opened the cartridge, placing six new bullets; all he had left was-

"Rebo-!"

"Tsuna." His eyes did not waver, just like the man he was.

That was it. Nothing else could be said. Tears fell, but the young student looked his teacher right in the eye, obedient as always. He took a step back, hesitating before running back to the others.

He counted.

One.

Basil led the way.

(He followed)

Two.

Chikusa followed closely, gripping the key tightly.

(His heart beat hurt)

Three.

Lussuria ran after them, his metal knee layered with dried blood.

(His cheeks tingled)

Four.

Irie helped support Lal.

(His body felt so numb)

Five.

Dino managed to keep his balance.

(His vision narrowed)

Six.

Tsuna followed.

(His breathing was shallow)

A pause.

(He anticipated, but wished it not to-)

He stumbled after the seventh bullet.

"_Why didn't you put that one?"_

"_Backup."_


	7. Sky

Seven pairs of legs waded slowly through the knee-high, muddied water. They kept their arms near their heads to swat away the annoying mosquitoes. It had been about half an hour since they'd found themselves in this swamp-like area. The muck had become more difficult to move in as they ventured deeper. Vines that looked similar to sea-weed hung in clusters ahead of them; obscuring their only path. Without a second thought, Lal cocked her shotgun. A few flinched from the loud shot and worried it would bring forth some creature.

But none came. Besides the mosquitoes of course.

"Let's go," the former COMSUBIN waded ahead, gun at ready.

The vines were leathery to the touch and felt much heavier than they looked. The pesky mosquitoes had stopped following, though the group still had to swap the vines away. After a while they began to sense something wrong. Especially Tsuna. The group paused to get a sense of their surroundings, but the dense vines were posing a big problem.

"Don't tell me we're stuck here," Irie's voice wavered as he tried to maintain his breathing.

"It's all right, Irie-kun," Dino pat the young boy on the back before wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Whatever happens, we'll keep you safe," he grinned reassuringly as he gripped a vine and pulled on it, "so don't lose hope on us, 'k?"

_Plop_

?

Everyone watched in stunned wonder as the vine floated back into view, squirming to life. It let out a hiss which immediately caused a chorus of hisses all around them.

"Run…RUN!" Lal shouted as she began shooting at any nearby snakes –everywhere.

As the group rushed –from what they assumed- away from the hanging snakes, the creatures finally began to move more avidly. Irie shrieked as a snake he –thought was a vine- had swatted latched around his wrist. It's tongue flickered warningly at his face, smelling the all too obvious fear from the boy. Dino tried to help but recoiled away after the snake shot at his direction, fangs dangerously close to his nose. Soon more snakes tumbled down and slithered their way onto the group's limbs. They struggled warily avoiding angering the lithe reptiles.

Just as their hope was lost, their hope diminished.

During their struggle they had failed to notice that their path had been cleared of snakes and vines; but that there had also been something creeping towards them. Its large scaled body created ripples. Ripples that had reached Lal when she sensed it. She couldn't move, not with the damned snakes coiled around her thighs and torso. She fumbled with her shotgun watching the approaching enemy from her peripheral.

The others flinched at the sudden blare of her shotgun. "These snakes aren't the danger. They were holding us _for_ the danger!" Lal briskly prepared another round.

"What the hell is that?" Tsuna's attention was all on the upcoming creature. It resembled a crocodile, although it was slightly deformed. It's leathery scales glistened and it had no eyes. It swam rapidly towards them, jaw agape. It jerked to the side suddenly. Lal managed to land a shot. It roared, creating shockwaves –actual shockwaves- which caused everyone to lose their footing. The muddy water sloshed this way and that, splashing on everyone's face, blinding them. Shouts were cut off as the small group were sent tumbling through the water, away from the malformed croc luckily.

Chikusa was first to realize that they were trapped in a current. He tried to stand but the water had somehow risen. He felt a tug around his neck. He feared it was a snake but saw it was merely Irie hanging onto him. Up ahead, Chikusa saw no water…but no ground either.

Dino and Tsuna held tightly to each other, eyes wide at what lay behind them. It was not what Chikusa had seen. Instead it was a group of crocs heading straight at them. Lal had lost grip of her shotgun, they were doomed.

Irie had begun to scream which faded as soon as he started.

The sudden fading worried the others. As they turned they were falling. Falling and falling-

"Oof!" the air was knocked out of everyone. Their landing was a rather soft one. Bouncy too. No one moved. Too stunned at the suddenness of…well of everything really. They lay there, blinking at the broken pipes up above that had dirtied water trickling out. There was a small rising nearby, probably where they had 'fallen'.

Sitting up from the _mattress_, Lal took in the sight of stuffed animals. Snakes and crocodiles. She clenched her fists, knuckles white. "Is this kid toying with us?" she spoke lowly, her voice wavering from anger. "What the hell are you trying to pull!" she punched a nearby wall. It broke under her fist, though it also left her with bloody knuckles.

Just as the others stood, dazed and worn out from the outrageous **illusion**, a thundering rumble shook the room. Lal had yelled at the others to stand strong as it may have been another illusion, but that was before they felt the room sway sideways. They were knocked around in the same direction and very nearly hit the concrete wall had the room not shifted again in another direction.

They tottered and fell knocking into each other more than once or twice. With sick realization it was apparent that the group was being sent through a large, winding hall. Concrete all around, no doors, no escape. It felt as if they were in a child's game. Avoid hitting any walls while making it through the maze. No control.

...

They were bruised and battered. Bleeding even.

Looking around they found themselves in a spacious, bland space. Nothing fancy. No chandeliers. No velvet wallpaper. No elaborate paintings.

Just space.

They trudged carefully, going in their own individual direction.

Something clattered across the concrete ground after Lussuria kicked it; and it gave off a dull but sharp ring. It glinted dimly, almost as if winking at them. Warily stepping closer to it, Lussuria knelt down and took the rusted key into his fingers. Letting out the breath he held, the sole Varia member started to stand as he said, "It's okay now, I've got the ke-!"

Interrupted with no warning, an enormously blunt blade found its way through the unsuspecting victim's chest. The rest of the group gaped in dismay as the muscle built behemoth sharply twisted its blade. Irie found himself retching stomach acid from the sight. Lal, still in dazed disgust and shock, sprinted towards the mutilated body and slid through the behemoth's thick legs, narrowly missing the bloodied blade. Key in hand she shouted at the others to run.

They ran and ran. The building made no sense. It was rather peculiar to how things worked in here; so soon they were in a completely different area. Wooded areas. Still spacious. The light had dimmed. Sources of illumination were unknown. They couldn't afford to ponder about their settings. The chase had begun.

The madness of it all had begun.

...

Floorboards detached outwardly, flying aimlessly at high speed. Their path ahead of them was blurred by chipped wood and blunt nails. Bare skin was grazed by sharp pieces of broken wood and eyes were irritated greatly. It didn't help at all when a swarm of moths hovered around them, following. They swatted the obnoxious bugs that got in their face, some cursing when one hit their eye. Well, better moths than bloodsucking mosquitoes.

A door came to their view from their right. Shutting the door behind them, they immediately backed away as debris from the other side bombarded the closed door. The noise hushed to a great extent as they crossed this new room, which turned out to be a laundry room. The machines were lined up in one side, off. Clothes hung in a line at the other. It smelled strongly of soap. Eerily quiet and calm. Nothing out of the ordinary. The group tread warily, irritated eyes watching.

Everyone flinched at the sound of Irie's shriek. They turned to him, "Over there," he says pointing towards an empty side of the room. Empty it was, but he continued. "Something dark was there-it moved!" the boy trembled. No one had moved. Had they had the energy someone would have investigated the area; but as of now, everyone was drained. They merely stood stock still, listening and feeling for any abnormality. When they felt none, they started walking once again. Lal and Dino remained behind the group; so when Lal let out a startled yelp, it was Dino who was first to react.

"Lal-!" but he was too stunned.

Lal Mirch was moving erratically, jumping and turning around frantically. "Get it off!" she shouted in a startling gruff, high pitch.

For a split second no one could bare to make a move; for really, this was too much. TOO much.

It was the size of a kitten, and it crawled briskly. Just like its smaller counterpart. Dino braced himself then proceeded to whack the **thing** off of the frantic woman. It was pure luck that he managed to knock it off within a second. He, along with everyone else, yelped as the **cockroach** scuttled briskly away.

"What the hell _was_ that?!" Dino received a slap to his shoulder.

"What do you think?!" Lal brought her hand back to hug her arms. She shivered.

"That was the thing I saw," Irie murmured, blinking his wide eyes. "I didn't think they could get so huge-!"

"Just stop, Irie," Lal interrupted. "Let's just leave this place."

With that said, the group treaded onwards paying extra attention to their surroundings. The bleached walls and scent of soap began to fade as they descended a staircase. They had hoped these steps would lead them to the first floor, but hopes were crushed as they found themselves in another rickety-old room. The infamous worn floorboards, dust layered furniture, and kerosene lamps greeted the group with absent hospitality. Trudging through the usual endless room, few members noticed the large gapes on the floral wallpaper. A hole here, a hole there. None on the ceiling, thankfully; but the walls were in such poor condition. Just imagine the infestation this room could have-

Freeze.

Maybe it was Vongola telepathy or the insanity moments ago, but it was obvious that they had all thought of the same thing. They glanced at each other, worry and anxiety smothering their breathing space.

_Skittle Scuttle _

Definitely the time to run.

But run where? Every available hall had open holes around them. If they went through the wrong one-

_Skittle Scuttle…**Scuttle**_

It was one of those moments when you **know** you shouldn't look up; but you do anyway. So when their jittery eyes shakily rolled towards the ceiling above them, they were honestly scared shitless. This kid had a very sick sense of humor. It's a shame the majority of the world's humans have a strong dislike to these insects. They could've simply ignored the creatures and kick them aside if they didn't. But they do. So…

Some screamed, some shrieked; but together they charged to the nearest hall in a disorderly fashion. Dino was first to stumble, but Lal kept him on his feet somehow. Furniture was strewn randomly in every room. They had to slow down to maneuver their way around the cursed chairs and couches, tables, **beds. **A few had crashed directly from these obstacles with their companions dragging them to their feet right after. Their frenzied footsteps weren't all they heard, sadly. They could hear the unsettling _skitter-scatter_ of the roaches nearing them. Luckily the holes had been fewer and fewer; so no sudden appearances.

Lal yelped for the second time that day as the floor underneath her burst open. Shattered floorboard dispersed in every direction as Lal was pulled in. Her hands held onto an intact floorboard, her lips bleeding as she harshly bit them to keep from screaming. Within seconds she felt the calloused hands of Dino and Tsuna gripping around her bruised arms and pulling. Her body was merely wrenched back into the broken floor. She cried out suddenly, coughing out blood. Her eyes flickered in pained realization. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out the key and handed it to Dino. The silent gesture was understood by the dirty blond but not the brunette. Tsuna desperately pulled at Lal's arms, "Tsuna-!" only to fall back from the sudden weight loss. He stared at the severed waist, guts sloppily plopping into the open hole, and blinked. Her arms were at either side of her head and her hair was a mess; her face concealed. She laid still. Malformed hands reached up from the hole and dragged what remained of her body into it. Tsuna's hearing picked up the distinct sounds of chewing…

...

With Lal gone, it was Tsuna who led. There was no need for intuition since their only path was straight ahead. They were descending, that they were sure of. The rumbling that had begun moments ago was beginning to crescendo, though what it signaled was still unknown to the small group. The walls around them had vines and leaves. The floor had clumps of soil, and what appeared to be weeds. The moths from before were back, though less obnoxious. Their pace slowed just a bit as the stony arch ahead led to a lone wooded bridge. A pair of torches burned on either side of the bridge's entry. The room was grassy and it lacked flooring; which explained the bridge. The group hurried through the bridge, wincing from the creaks it gave off. High pitch whizzing sounds quickly faded as soon as they started, startling the group. Once at the other side, they were met by a large stone door. A pair of short pillars with squared knobs atop stood at either side of the bridge, mimicking the torches. Dino, who had been behind the group, placed a hand on each knob. A low rumble erupted from the stone door as it opened; but began to close after Dino let go of the knobs. Tsuna frowned as the key was handed to him from the Bronco.

"Dino…" he didn't have the energy to finish.

"It's fine, Tsuna. I'll just have to find another way, ah?" Dino cheerfully replied, his smile tired but reassuring.

Tsuna hesitated but, "Ok."

With that, they parted.

The four boys had no idea that the whizzing sounds from before came from arrows. Arrows that were fatally embedded into Dino Cavallone's back.

...

It was like the building was decaying. The following rooms were smothered in greenery and its walls were chipped or broken down. The ceilings however remained untouched. The source of light came from the dozens of fireflies encased in globes that hung from across the ceilings.

The rooms got warmer as they delved deeper in. Stairways narrowed to the point they went down in a single file. Tsuna's face stung from the sweat. He had slowed for a moment, thinking. Dreading. Basil had taken the lead. He was about to round a corner when Tsuna grasped his shirt collar and yanked him back. A wall of fire erupted across them. The heat from such proximity was scorching hot. Their skin singed and blistered slightly. Tsuna inwardly thanked his intuition and proceeded to lead the group away from the upcoming danger. A pathway that had not been there before made it clear that the child was currently involved. Tsuna seethed.

Concentrated masses of fire shot towards the group from behind. Thundering footsteps followed vigorously which shook the ground and tore the walls down. The boys ran down a flight of stairs, heat radiating the narrow hall. As they came out from said hall, a gush of flames poured out, smoldering everything within. They continued to run, chased relentlessly. Another flight of stairs and they entered a wonderfully decorated ballroom. Spacious. Very spacious. Tsuna called out to Basil and handed him the key. The young CEDEF member looked from the key in his palm to Tsuna.

"But, Sawada-dono," he began.

"Just go," Tsuna spoke tiredly but with firmness in his voice.

"Tsuna-kun, please don-!"

"GO."

Irie bit his lip, tears ready to shed. Basil nodded solemnly, muttering a 'yes sir' before he turned on his heel and led Irie and Chikusa out from the ballroom. None of the three looked back.

...

Tsuna stood alone. He waited. All sorts of thoughts swarmed through his head. All sorts of emotions flooded his heart. His heart…

The footsteps shuffled into the ballroom, creating craters under its great weight. It swayed from side to side as it stood across him; its body ablaze. Tsuna still didn't move. He was thinking. Feeling. All sorts of things. Abstract and concrete. The pain from his wounds were nothing compared to his heart. His heart…

The creature screeched, spouting flecks of fire. It seemed irritated. Annoyed from being ignored. Tsuna frowned. His fingers twitched. He glanced at the blazing creature. The same creature as before as he had suspected. He ground his teeth and glared without narrowing his eyes. What for?

"You killed my friends," he uttered lowly.

The creature merely responded by raising its bony arms.

Tsuna readied a stance he'd grown accustomed to while protecting his friends. One arm behind him and one in front. His brown eyes darkened and his hands radiated, the skin burned off. Sawada Tsunayoshi growled his last words, "X-Burner."

...

Basil, Irie, and Chikusa staggered from the harsh tremors that reverberated all throughout the building. They lost their footing and tumbled down the stairs they had been descending. Getting up quickly, the trio hurried down the hall avoiding the debris coming down their way. Plaster and dust began to blur their way. Fire and smoke smothered the floors way above them which would soon reach them. As the chaos ensued, they managed to find another staircase. This one broke off in one end, forcing them to jump across. The after effects of the explosion were devastating. The floors, walls, ceilings, everything was coming apart. The trio found themselves falling through a whole floor. The setting was too familiar.

Irie yelped as his foot got wedged between debris. Basil instinctively gave the key to Chikusa before hastily helping Irie. Chikusa scurried across the broken room, his destination straight ahead. He slammed into the looming double doors and shoved the key into its rightful place and _turned it_. Basil ran up with Irie and kicked the door open.

There was a blinding light and the chime had dulled.


	8. Epilogue

He stares at nothing in particular. Unblinking, unresponsive, undead. Padded cushions of white all around, absorbing every sound; the hum of silence is ever constant.

Time continues to pass, but only he remains; trapped in his memories; lost in his memories; longing for his memories. The shock, the sorrow, the loss of...

Underneath the suffocating straightjacket, his body writhes; shivers.

Gripping his remaining memory.

_Stay strong, 'kay...?_

Gripping, gripping. Such a flimsy thing it was. Why does he continue to hold onto it? His body writhes. It writhes from the surge of…

His mind becoming a blur of past memories.

His body writhes.

...

Even as he walks his mind is elsewhere. He doesn't listen to what his sister is complaining about or what his father is discussing with his mother. He didn't care that this trip was for him. He didn't care.

The family stop as mother and father go and buy the tickets. He stays still on his spot, baggy eyes etched onto the reflection next to him. He looks so worn out, he notices. The bandages splayed across his face remind him of other wounds. His reflection morphs into a familiar face. Dark blond hair and a sucker forever stuck in his mouth. His lips twitch into a small smile. But that smile diminishes as the sight of the blond nearly losing his head comes into view.

He jumps from hearing the blare of an upcoming train. His body shivers and he clutches his head. Those unpleasant images were so clear, so real-because _it happened_.

He really didn't care anymore.

Letting go of his suitcase, he ran past his mother as she had just come back from buying the tickets. "Shoichi..?" She watched in horror as her son jumped in the train's path.

...

He coughs violently into his hand. He looks into it but finds nothing. Just phlegm. He sighs tiredly, gazing blankly at the person across him.

Sick yellow and skin framing every bone; and his eyes, so distraught and unblinking. A sad sight.

Someone knocks behind the door before entering. Their footsteps are familiar. Confident and proud.

"Basil...what happened?" Sawada Iemitsu spoke beside him.

The ECG machine begins to beep, signaling a quickening from his pulse. It's too much. Too much to think that those people were all gone. Too much to think he barely survived. Too much to think no one can be saved.

Doctors rush in, bringing the man aside.

Only Iemitsu notices the frail hands that clench in agony.

Such a sad sight.

...

Sawada Nana sighed. She had been sitting on the couch looking through a photo album. She smiled at the photos of her son and husband. Her son's friends, oh so many friends he made! She was so glad and proud of her son. Her one and only son. She loved her little Tsu-kun so very much-her Iemitsu too, of course! She continued to giggle at the memories those photos brought her.

She missed them.

That trip is a rather long one; and she has gotten no call or letter.

She sighs once again right when the doorbell rings. She stands and walks to the front door, cheery smile in place. Opening the door, she sure is surprised!

"Dear?"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

Thank you very, VERY much if you stuck around.


End file.
